A newsletter for the families and friends of Westchester Country Day School

From the Head of SchoolReflections on Community Building

As the regular readers of this newsletter understand well, I have been thinking and writing about our mission-driven work here at WCDS to build an intentional community. We believe, in a foundational way, in the critical role that community plays in the lives of children. Our mission sets this belief alongside our commitment to the pursuit of excellence: at the heart of who we are as a school sits our faith in the powerful combination of high expectations and a loving, caring, family community.

So, in case you missed them, here are links to my previous articles on the subject: • “Edification and the Work of Building Community”• “Blow Pops, Role Models, and the Community of Fans”• “Building Community through Financial Generosity”• “‘The Play’s the Thing’: Building Community in the Arts”• “Cats Care Bracelets: Building Community through Kindness”• “Constituent Surveys: An Ongoing Conversation about Our Community”

I’d like to take a moment or two in this, the final newsletter article of the 2014-15 school year, to reflect upon this work. In truth, the more time I spend here at WCDS and on other independent school campuses around the Southeast, the more I have come to believe in the fundamental importance of the community we create and sustain together.

Great teaching emerges from strong, authentic, and caring relationships between students and the adults in their lives. Great schools embrace this fact as a core belief and work with great intention to build communities that privilege, nurture, and protect these relationships. We believe deeply here that students who feel safe, known, cared for, and loved--in short who feel “at home” at school--are in an ideal position to learn and grow. It is in this setting that children will embrace challenges, take risks, give back to those in need around them, and learn from failure. The close, trusting relationship between teacher and student is the foundation upon which all of our work in education rests.

Here at WCDS, we have gone a step further by extending this value to include all of the relationships in our school family. In so doing, we embody the importance of community in our own lives and become models for the children in our care of how to live with, love, and support one another. In our daily living--how we treat one another, how we manage disagreements and conflict, how we respond to our mistakes, and, yes, even how we cheer at a soccer game--we are all teachers to the children in our school. They are looking to us to learn how to live well, care for others, deal with conflict, respect each other, and so much more.

I believe we are at our best when the values that we share--the values of respect, honesty, honoring one another, serving those in need, forgiving easily, and doing our best--become more than just slogans on the walls of our

May 2015 Newsletter

In This Issue...

Headlines

Upcoming Events

Arts Update

Athletics Update

For the College Bound

Spotlight on Student Work

buildings. We are at our best when these values manifest themselves in the lives that we live together here on campus, manifest themselves in our words and actions, and, consequently, manifest themselves in the models of right living that we become for the children in our school.

So I thank all of you for the year that we’ve had together and the rich, powerful, and lasting lessons that your generous, caring, respectful, and loving lives have taught all of our Wildcats this year.

Cobb

Headlines

Big Plans for Library

Excitement is building in our school library as we are planning to update both the library space and our col-lections. Rows and rows of book stacks, encyclopedias and reference books are being replaced in libraries nationwide with smaller book collections, technology, and online services. We want our students to have the advantage of current technology and 21st Century learning styles, techniques, and spaces.

Therefore, plans are underway to refurbish and redesign our library space. The vision is for a commons area that will offer a flexible place for instruction, information resources, groups, meetings, and a school library collection. Our goal is to offer a mixed use space for research, study, collaboration, and more with library staff being the connection between resources and students.

We are in the process of looking at possibilities for furnishings, print and nonprint materials, online subscrip-tions, redesigned space, and more. If you want to help or have suggestions, please contact the Acting Library Director, Gwen Russell.

Got a Buck? Buy a Book!

The Library volunteers will be conducting a Used Book Sale the weekend of May 15 -17. Come by the library before or after the school play that weekend to buy a hardback book (or 2 paperbacks) for a dollar. Take advantage of our plans to update the library space and book collection for next year while “bagging a book for a buck”.

Hours for the sale are:Friday, May 15, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and 6:00-7:00 p.m.Saturday, May 16, from 6:00-7:00 p.m.Sunday, May 17, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. and 3:00-4:00 p.m.

** Please note that the school store will also be open during these times!

Attention Rising Seniors - Portraits Due October 1

Note to rising seniors: Schedule your Senior portraits this summer! The photographers get busy the closer you get to August. You may use the photographer of your choice. Portraits and four additional photos are due October 1st to Mrs. Tuggle.

Junior Selected for Governor’s School

WCDS junior Paige Hetley has been selected to attend North Carolina’s Governor’s School in the field of mathematics. She is the daughter of Tom and Renee Hetley of High Point.

Paige will attend Governor’s School East at Meredith College in Raleigh this summer. The Governor’s School of North Carolina is a five and one-half week summer residential program for intellectually gifted high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses on each of two campuses. The curriculum focuses on the exploration of the most recent ideas and concepts in each discipline, and does not involve credit, tests, or grades. The Governor’s School is the oldest statewide summer residential program for academically or intellectually gifted high school students in the nation.

Bethel Accepted into Aerospace Engineering Program

Eleventh grader Jonathan Bethel has been accepted into N.C. State University’s College of Engineering Summer Residential Workshop on Aerospace Engineering. He is the son of Lee Ann Bethel of High Point.

The program offers rising juniors and seniors the opportunity to learn about aeronautics, mechanical systems, and electronic controls. Students will participate in hands-on opportunities as well as classroom work and lectures. Acceptance into the workshop is highly competitive and is based on an applicant’s overall academic GPA, standardized test scores, performance in science, math, engineering, and technology courses, and demonstrated interest through essays.

Sophomore Accepted into Davidson College’s July Experience

Westchester Country Day School sophomore Jaya Bhardwaj has been accepted into the July Experience program at Davidson College.

July Experience is a powerful pre-college summer academic program for rising high school juniors and seniors who are highly motivated, academically oriented, and self-disciplined. It takes place on the campus of Davidson College, one of the nation’s very best liberal arts colleges. Participants take two liberal arts courses taught by full-time Davidson faculty, live in residence halls with students from across the country and around the world, and participate in sessions about the college admission process, while getting prepared for college.

Students Accepted into Summer Ventures of Science and Mathematics

Junior Casey Crouse and sophomore Lauren Griffith have been accepted into the Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics program. Casey is the son of George and Kim Crouse of Colfax. Lauren is the daughter of Lincoln Griffith of Jamestown and Suzanne Lowe of High Point. Casey will be attending at the UNC-Charlotte campus, and Lauren will be attending at the East Carolina University campus.

Summer Ventures is a four-week, STEM-intensive summer program for rising juniors and seniors that places students in a challenging living-learning environment filled with like-minded peers and encourages out-of-the-box thinking.

Students learn experimental design, laboratory skills, instrumentation, mathematical modeling, strategies in mathematical problem solving, and more.

Privette Serves as Page

Freshman Davis Privette recently served as a Page for the North Carolina House of Representatives. He is the son of David and Kellie Privette of High Point and was sponsored by Representative John Faircloth (Republican-Guilford). Speaker of the House Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) appoints the Pages and introduces each one to Members and citizens in the House gallery at the start of each week during Monday night’s session.

For decades, the State House has relied on the service of Pages, who help deliver bills and amendments for Representatives during daily House sessions and committee meetings, offer assistance in individual Representatives’ offices, and run errands around the Legislature. Pages spend a week at the General Assembly assisting members and their staff and learning about the structure of North Carolina government.

At the C.A.R.E.S. Crews event on Friday, April 24, we gathered by Crews on the gym floor to count all of our change and were able to give $800 each to our four organizations: • Debra (The Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research

Association of America)• MSA Coalition (Multiple System Atrophy)• Susie’s Hope (animal abuse awareness), and • Wounded Warrior Project.

Then we headed outside for a fun-filled field day with our buddies! Activities included the giant soapy slide, beach volleyball, drip-drip-drop, knockout, corn hole, lunch, ice cream, and more!

Change for Change Recipients Get $800 Each

Kindergarten Fun!

The kindergarten students and teachers

had a great time hunting for eggs and celebrating spring at

Ben’s house on April 6!

Middle School News from Mrs. Keever

April showers bring May flowers, and the Middle School students are indeed blooming!

Students are exploring some hands-on learning with exciting field trips ahead. Sixth and eighth graders will travel to Charlotte to visit the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Seventh grade Mandarin students will take a field trip to explore Mandarin culture and food as well.

Our last C.A.R.E.S. Crews event brought success and pride as we collected change to donate to charities selected by our student body. A group of seventh graders (Caroline Clodfelter, Reagan Crowell, Deni Lewis, and Aditi Shah) and fifth grader Olivia Beaver nominated Susie’s Hope as one of the recipients of the fundraising. Pictured are those students with Susie and her friend, Baby Girl!

Our theatrical Wildcats are working hard to prepare for an exciting adventure in Dinosaurs Before Dark. Many will be playing leading roles for the first time, which is exciting, but they are also enjoying developing their leadership skills as they guide and mentor the Lower School thespians. Those performing in the Middle and Upper School choral concert have been working hard as well; they entertained while developing their comfort on stage.

Middle School students developed their reflection and presentation skills in April during their student spotlight presentations. Students, teachers, parents, and advisors collaborated to reflect on goals set in October and analyze the progress. Students then applied their learning by creating and implementing a mini-lesson. Parents learned Mandarin characters, Spanish greetings, Scratch computer programming, and keyboarding lessons (see Lee and Stuart Nunn, at left), to name a few.

Our student-athletes are striving to finish the spring sports season with gusto. The Middle School track team is thriving under the enthusiasm and direction of Coach Jeb Burns.

Some are preparing to challenge him to a race during the 5K. Students who cross the finish line before him will receive glory and bragging rights. Lace up those sneakers!

Those developing their leadership skills will explore the political arena by participating in student government executive council elections. We have a most qualified and enthusiastic slate of candidates. All are preparing professional campaigns and thoughtful, creative speeches. We have grown together during a magnificent year!

K-8 Production May 15-18

Be sure to come out for one of the following productions of Dinosaurs Before Dark: 7:00 p.m. May 157:00 p.m. May 162:00 p.m. May 17

More than 40 Westchester students in Grades K-8 star in this production of one of Mary Pope Osborne’s classic tales.

Click here to order tickets!

Upcoming Events

Upper School Awards CeremonyThursday, May 14, 8:05 a.m., Rives Hall

Varsity Athletic Recognition NightTuesday, May 19, 6:30 p.m., Rives Hall

Solo RecitalWednesday, May 20, 6:30 p.m., Rives Hall

Graduation LuncheonFriday, May 22, 12:30 p.m., High Point Country ClubThis is an 11:30 a.m. dismissal day for all to allow faculty members to attend the luncheon honoring the Class of 2015.

GraduationSaturday, May 23, 9:30 a.m.Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church

Memorial Day HolidayMonday, May 25, no school

Lower School Step-Up CeremonyWednesday, May 27, 8:15 a.m., Rives Hall

Middle School Awards CeremonyFriday, May 29, 8:15 a.m., Rives Hall

Last Day of SchoolFriday, May 29, 11:30 a.m. dismissal

Arts Update from Ann ParksThe Fine Arts celebrated our music program in April with concerts that had everyone humming along. From funny fish songs sung by students in grades PreK-2, to Disney songs sung by students in grades 3-5, to Motown hits performed by our Middle and Upper School students, we all enjoyed the music showcase under the direction of Mrs. Shelley Jennings. Also last month, Mrs. Jennings was the guest clinician for the Elementary All-County Chorus of Davidson County, an auditioned group of 90 fifth grade students representing each elementary school in Davidson County. This weekend, Footnotes will be visiting and performing at Dollywood.

Our visual arts students are finalizing their works and portfolios as the end of the year approaches. Look for a link to the AP Studio Art portfolios on our website later in May. Our Middle School students will be exhibiting their works at the Theater Art Gallery in High Point over the summer with the opening May 28.

Be sure to catch a performance of Dinosaurs Before Dark May 15 - 17 and the end of year Solo Recital for our instrumental students on May 20.

Stay creative over the summer through our camps in the visual arts and drama production. Be sure to check the camp schedule for details.

Arts IntegrationArts Integration continues to be an important focus across all areas of the school. Many members of the Arts Integration Learning Team took a day in April to visit the Arts Based School in Winston-Salem. We returned to Westchester inspired with new ideas to incorporate into our programming.

Arts Integration Project SpotlightThis month Mrs. Noyes will be doing a project with her seventh grade math classes that uses logic and critical analysis to redesign nursery rhymes. These newly created versions will then be performed or illustrated. Stay tuned for the results!

Another great year of Westchester Athletics is winding down, and the last three weeks are sure to be full of great memories for our spring student-athletes. Please make sure you come out to support the Cats as they compete for Conference and State Championships this spring!

The TAC and T-MAC Conference Championships will be held at the following venues:

Varsity Baseball – WCDS – 4/28, 4/30Varsity Boys Tennis – Alamance Country Club – 4/28, 4/30Varsity Golf – Willow Creek Country Club – 5/4Varsity Track – American Hebrew Academy – 5/7MS Golf – Emerywood – 5/5* All subject to change due to weather!

The State Championships will be held at the following venues:

Varsity Baseball – Championship – Kinston, NC– 5/15, 5/16Varsity Golf – Talamore, Southern Pines – 5/11, 5/12

Varsity Track – American Hebrew Academy – 5/15, 5/16Varsity Tennis – Barton College – 5/15, 5/16

Athletic Recognition CeremonyPlease join us on Tuesday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. in Rives Hall as we recognize our varsity athletes and present individual and team awards. All varsity athletes and their families are invited to attend. Please note: Like last year, there will not be a “sit down” dinner. Westchester continues its tradition of a strong athletic program, and we want to recognize our wonderful student-athletes for all of their accomplishments this year. Please plan to come out, show your support, and enjoy a night of recognizing our Wildcat athletes, their coaches, and the terrific job they do representing our school! Student-athletes are asked to dress in “game day attire” (shirt and tie for boys and dresses for girls).

*To be guaranteed a good seat, please arrive early!

Athletics Update from Coach Schwartz

The Periodic Table as an art project by students at the Arts Based School.

For the College BoundIt’s hard to believe that summer is almost upon us! While I certainly hope all students will rest, relax, and unwind during these months off so as to feel rejuvenated at the start of the 2015-2016 school year, I also want to encourage them to be productive and engaged as well. The summer months offer many opportunities to learn, grow, and prepare. So, Upper Schoolers, here are a few suggestions for how to make the most of your summer:

Prepare for your 2015-2016 classes. Do your summer reading and writing assignments, and “read/study forward” in what will be your most challenging classes next year (especially AP classes). It’s often possible to procure texts/workbooks ahead of time so as to get a jumpstart on content and reduce stress once the school year begins.

Work. Full-time, part-time, at a business, or even babysitting--any kind of job has the potential to build character, teach skills, and reveal strengths and preferences.

Serve. Take the time to help others voluntarily, but don’t just try to accumulate hours here, there, anywhere, and everywhere. Instead, find an organization or area of interest about which you are passionate and then demonstrate commitment to it, showing leadership or initiative whenever possible. Your service experiences should be marked by quality, not quantity.

Learn, explore, dabble, practice. There are so many summer camps, workshops, seminars, and sessions nowadays devoted to every topic, interest, and activity you can imagine--enroll in one to keep your mind and body active!

Prep for Standardized Tests. Repeated practice can make a difference on tests such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. Summer is a great time to tackle a test practice book, utilize online resources, take a prep class, or even work with a tutor.

Update your resume. It’s easy to do in Naviance! Make sure you are including all your meaningful summer experiences!

Visit Colleges. Summer is a great time to check out colleges in which you are interested. Admissions offices are busy places during the summer, though, so I recommend booking tours well in advance. Whenever possible, fold informal college campus visits into your family travel/vacations. Even driveby visits to colleges provide impressions that can be helpful down the road.

For rising seniors in particular, I have the following suggestions:

Narrow down your list of schools. Do the necessary research in order to focus on the schools that offer the best fit academically, socially, financially, and geographically. Strive for balance in your list. For every “reach,” have a “safety.” Most of the schools on your list should be “target” schools (schools at which your GPA and test scores match the middle 50% of admitted students).

Once you have narrowed down your list of schools, create a calendar of application deadlines and checklist of application requirements. It is incredibly important to have a sense of your timeline for college applications before you begin your senior year. The deadlines come fast (especially those for Early Action, Early Decision, Honors Colleges, and school-specific scholarships), so go on and mark your calendar as to what needs to happen when. Pay attention to how many schools are Common App schools, what testing is required (perhaps SAT Subject Tests?), how many essays you will need to write, and if any interviews will need to be scheduled.

Draft Essays. Finalize your Common App essay--those prompts are set already, so there is no reason not to have that one finished. Do your best to find out ahead of time what additional essays you will need to write and begin drafting those. Even if a school’s 2015-2016 application or Common App supplemental page has not been released yet, it would still be wise to look at the 2014-2015 essay questions to have an idea of what to expect and even get started. Many if not most of them will remain the same!

Set up your Common App account as soon as the new application is available (August 1), and be sure to attend one of the Common App workshops I will offer in August before school starts. Other applications

will go “live” on college websites as the summer progresses, so check the websites of non-Common App schools you are interested in regularly and get started on applications/essays as soon as possible.

Research and begin applying for scholarships. Naviance, FastWeb, Cappex, and numerous other search engines listed on our school website are great resources for sifting through the thousands of scholarship opportunities out there. A surprising number of scholarships have application deadlines early in the school year and use essay prompts similar to those for college essays, so summer is the ideal time to do some of this work.

I am looking forward to hearing about how all of our Upper Schoolers spent their summer when we reconvene in August!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Raegan AtkinsonDirector of College Guidance336.822.4002

Science Fun!

Science students (Sofia Chodri, Emma Steward, Kate Leonard, and Blake Lawson) proudly display their virus models during the microorganisms unit in sixth grade. Second grader Logan Wilson shares his

interpretation of germ anatomy while his expression hints of his disdain for pathogenic microorganisms!

Second grade students EB McEneney, Mary Katherine Ragsdale, and Natalie Seperteladze examine their hands for simulated germs while using a UV black light.

Daniel Ayodele Allegheny College College of Wooster George Mason University Ohio University University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Texas* West Virginia UniversityDavid Ayodele Ohio University Texas A&M University - Kingsville West Virginia UniversityEmily Bunch High Point University* Lenoir-Rhyne University Meredith College University of North Carolina at Greensboro Wingate UniversityRyeong Choi Guilford College High Point University University of North Carolina at CharlotteChelsea Eley Bowling Green State University*Abraham Hernandez Brevard College Limestone College Mars Hill University University of South Carolina Upstate Wofford CollegeCampbell Kinley North Carolina State University* University of South Carolina University of TennesseeKayla Kushner College of Charleston High Point University Johnson & Wales University Meredith College* University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at Greensboro Western Carolina UniversityMorgan Kushner Johnson & Wales University Meredith College* University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at GreensboroWyatt Lansford Appalachian State University University of North Carolina at Wilmington Virginia Polytechnic and State University*Savannah Lewis Furman University Oxford College of Emory University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of South Carolina

Wake Forest University Wofford College*Russell Marion Appalachian State University Gardner-Webb University High Point University University of North Carolina at CharlotteTroy Polen Campbell University Gardner-Webb University* Winthrop UniversityNoah Reid High Point University*Josie Roberts Guilford College* Lenoir-Rhyne UniversityKaitlyn Shapiro Furman University University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at Wilmington*Omar Shehata Appalachian State University High Point University University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at Wilmington University of South Carolina* Wofford CollegeLowie Vandeplancke North Carolina State University* University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wofford CollegeRamya Varadarajan Davidson College Furman University George Mason University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill* University of Rochester Wake Forest UniversityThomas Walsh University of Virginia*Kayla Watson Elon University High Point University Lenoir-Rhyne University North Carolina State University* University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Virginia Commonwealth UniversityThomas Wright Gardner-Webb University Pfeiffer UniversityYuqi Yang Drexel University Indiana University Bloomington* Michigan State University

Congratulations, Seniors!

* indicates school graduate will be attending

Spotlight on Student WorkMrs. Huggins’ sixth graders were working on persuasive writing, and she wanted to find a way for the students to be engaged and motivated about what they were creating. When she gave them the task of pretending that she was an alien and proving why, they all bent their heads down and started to scribble furiously. “I had never seen a group of students so excited about writing before!” said Mrs. Huggins. Below are the submissions from Tess Mickey (left) and Myles Patterson.

My teacher Mrs. Huggins is so weird! She must be an alien! I have noticed many crazy and odd things about her, her children, and what she does everyday. She is always eating strange foods. Mrs. Huggins speaks very oddly. She has cloned herself into at least three different people in order to do a million things per day! For all these reasons, I am certain that my teacher, Mrs. Huggins is definitely from another planet or even, another universe!

First of all, my teacher Mrs. Huggins eats weird foods of which no one has ever heard of or will even dare to eat. I have seen her eat nasty green cottage cheese with brown pineapple upside down. She also eats homemade peanut butter crackers with owl pellets and bird remains. The asparagus she eats is the worst part! It is purple and the size of Mrs. Huggin’s head. I am pretty sure it could probably eat her it so gigantic. I have also witnessed her stuff children’s heads inside of the asparagus!!! I think she eats all of this because she secretly has four stomachs. Also, she said that food tastes the best when it is six or more months passed the expiration date. YUCK!

Secondly, when Mrs. Huggins talks, she says crazy and weird things to us and sometimes it sounds like more than a thousand different languages mixed together. Whenever something goes wrong, she always shouts out to her friend Betsy in her home planet Jupiter (which most humans call heaven).

My teacher Mrs. Huggins is so weird. I think she is an alien! She has so much hair that she could easily hide her antennas. I live next to her, and one day I saw her walking to her car, but she wasn’t walking! She was floating! Her kids were floating too! It was so weird. Also, she hasn’t heard of the song “Phenomenon,”,she thinks it is called “Onenom,” that must be some alien song.

She can even teleport! I left school at the same time she did. We followed her because we go the same route. When we got home and pulled into the driveway, she had already parked and was inside her house. I swear I saw her car in front of us the whole way home!

Mrs. Huggins can even catch fire and not notice! We were in Language Arts and her hair caught on fire! She didn’t notice, she just kept teaching! It was terrifying! I thought the ceiling was going to light up in flames. I was so relieved that when the phone rang, the fire went out. You couldn’t even tell that her hair had been burning! It looked like it hadn’t been touched!

Another questionable thing she does is how she answers the phone. She always steps outside to talk, it is odd. She must be talking to The Alien Overlord, Zotero. I researched aliens and it said that they all are required to update him on what is happening in their area on Earth. The whole Earth

I am not really sure what she means but she says; “heavens to Betsy!” and it drives us all insane. Sometimes she gets stuck in a repeat mode and says it over and over. Also, whenever it is time to leave her class, she says to us, “Off you go!” like we are her alien children. I guess she wants us to go off to her planet, but that is nowhere I want to be. I really hope that one day she does not really send me to her home planet because there is no way I could survive there.

Lastly, I’m pretty sure she has to clone herself for all the millions and millions of things she does every single day. Her clones all look and act the same so I’m not really sure which Mrs. Huggins I am talking to most of the time. There is the mom Mrs., the teacher Mrs. Huggins, and the coach Mrs. Huggins. The reason I say this is because many of us humans have seen two Mrs. Huggins (the teacher and the coach Huggins) walking in the hall together, talking to each other. One conversation I heard was one clone telling the other about all the grading she has to do and the other one was saying she had a swim meet that afternoon. The mom Mrs. Huggins has two alien children and a very crazy alien husband that she likes to talk about. She has mentioned many times that she can swallow her children whole and feed them with her four stomachs. The teacher Mrs. Huggins teaches twenty-five classes each week, which we all know that no normal human could ever do. And last of all, the coach Mrs. Huggins coaches two different sports after school, which is not possible by any means.

For all these crazy and out of the world reasons, I know that my teacher Mrs. Huggins is an alien from another, out of this world planet. Although she will never admit it, all of us know that she is not human. I have all the evidence I need to prove I am correct. She eats foods that no normal human could live on. She says strange and crazy things to us all the time. In order to be in many different places every day, she is always claiming to be different people (a teacher, a mom, and a coach). For all the reasons listed above, I, Myles Patterson have proven that my teacher, Mrs. Huggins is in fact an alien.

must be covered with aliens then!

I think there is even another alien in this school, Coach Thomas. Mrs. Huggins said they were close like to crossed fingers. That must be an alien term for something like the human saying closer than two catfish in a skillet or two peas in a pod. She alsokeeps her headband around her middle finger. I think it is a tracking device.

Sometimes, she vanishes! She gets to school in the morning, but then she isn’t in the classroom. She must be handling alien business. I think she is here to save the world from a different alien race called Dumb Questioners! (I know that she has to be saving the world because she has only been on Earth for 23 years. If she was trying to take over the world, she would need to have at least 50 years of research on our planet.) The Dumb Questioners ask really dumb questions of course, but worst of all, they waste time!

Mrs. Huggins makes up words too! They were probably words from her native alien language that she tweaked to make them sound like normal English word. It is freaky! I’m guessing she does this to confuse us, you know, mess with our minds, or brainwash us. I really don’t know and that is why am worried.

I know she isn’t here to end the world because she plays classical music. If she played heavy metal, then she could end the world. She doesn’t do a lot of things that give her away except eating flowers. She just picks up flowers and eats them whole, I don’t know if anybody else has noticed. Sometimes she even mixes flowers into her favorite snack, watery chalk. She eats the wet chalk with flowers out of a bowl, and she really likes it. I think it is supposed to be like cottage cheese and fruit. I snuck into the room and tried it one day, I was mortified it was completely nasty.

I know that Mrs. Huggins must be an alien, because of all the things she does. I think the one thing that made me know that my theory was correct was when I saw her head panel. That’s right, a head panel. She was putting her hair up, and there was a blinking light! She is an alien robot!

I know that she is an alien, but I still think she is an awesome teacher. I have learned a lot about her alien culture. I am happy to say that one day I want to study aliens, and give aliens the freedom to live on Earth. Aliens will have freedom! I will dedicate my life to helping aliens have the right to live on Earth forever and always. Thank Mrs. Huggins for helping us all see that aliens aren’t that bad, and that they come in peace.

Counselor’s CornerLooking for the perfect read for the summer? Wanting something to better prepare you for the middle and upper school years, or just something to help your relationship with and understanding of your child? Here are a few ideas…

• The 5 Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell

• Parenting the Wholehearted Child by Jeannie Cunnion

• The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child: Helping Your Child Thrive in an Extroverted World by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D.

• Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Ciques, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World by Rosalind Wiseman

• Masterminds & Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World by Rosalind Wiseman

• The Available Parent: Expert Advice for Raising Successful and Resilient Teens and Tweens by Dr. John Duffy

• Beyond the Big Talk: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Sexually Healthy Teens by Debra W. Haffner

Westchester Country Day is a college preparatory school that seeks to educate each child toward moral, academic, artistic, and athletic excellence in a nurturing, family environment where students, teachers, and parents support one another. By respecting the student and honoring learning, Westchester aims to cultivate informed citizens who are ready for a rapidly changing world and to graduate students who view the pursuit and wise use of knowledge as a lifelong joy.

Online registration for the W-Day 5K ends at 1:30 p.m. May 1!

Walk-up registration will be available at the event on Saturday, May 2!