eCurrents January 31, 2013

Perkins Post is back!

Click here to read about the various exciting projects preschool through grade 2 students have engaged in this year; from podcasts to plantings, the spectrum is wide!

Click here to read about how grade 3 through 5 students don't just learn to read, but read to learn.

	All School LUNCH MENU \| PHOTOS \| CALENDAR

	Parent Mingle: The Importance of Arts in Academics Wednesday, February 6 \| 8:15 AM \| Campbell Conference Room Building Resiliency in our Children Wednesday, February 6 \| 7:00 - 8:30 PM \| Flynn Lecture Hall The Academic Center for Enrichment is proud to invite Dr. Don Yeoman, former superintendent of Chelmsford, MA; Lincolnwood, IL; and Lowell, IN school districts, to present a lecture on the topic of raising resilient children. Friends and family are welcome. Tunes & Tales Tuesday, February 5 \| 10:45 - 11:30 AM \| Preschool Building Attend this monthly story time and sing-along for children ages 2-5 and their grown-ups. Open House Our winter Open House this past Sunday afternoon was an enormous success. We had a record number of families, tripling last year's winter Open House number. The Nathan Hale Society tour guides made us all proud as wonderful, confident ambassadors for Rocky Hill. Families were impressed with the quality of the faculty and their dedication and enthusiasm for teaching. The next Open House will be February 21 during public school vacation week from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Please continue to spread the good word to your friends about Rocky Hill and encourage them to come visit our magnificent campus. Also, if you know the name of a family who might be interested in learning more about Rocky Hill, please submit their contact information to Catherine Washburn or fill out the Refer a Student form online. Head's Blog Guest blogger Tom Adams, director of technology, ponders the question, "Is knowing how to program a requisite to being considered highly educated?" The Bulletin Corrections Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the 2013 edition of The Bulletin, however the following corrections should be noted. On page 33, the Grade 7 Faculty Book Prize winner was Abigail Siegel '17. The Grade 7 Scholar was Anessa Petteruti '17.

	Upper School

	Roman Life Project The Latin 1 students just finished their annual Roman Life Project. They built temples, aqueducts, city models and arches, learning just how intense a process it was for the Romans to manufacture their masterpieces. Senior Seminar Luncheon There is still a need for parent volunteers for the Senior Seminar luncheon on Thursday, February 14 from noon until 2:00 p.m. If you have any questions please contact Fraser Gilbane or Julie Galkin. Senior Seminar After 30 years in the corporate world, Russ Hall struck out on his own and started two businesses. One is Perro Salado, a Mexican restaurant located in a 300-year-old house that at one time belonged to the American naval hero Stephan Decatur. The other is Cooliance, a thermal management company that provides products and services to control levels of heat in servers, computers, and LED lighting systems. Mr. Hall discussed the challenges of starting and managing both companies, answered questions from the seniors and met with them in groups to discuss their individual business plans. Next Tuesday's speakers are Bill Pritchett, founder and president of Lumetta Inc. and Dan Gorriaran, president and CEO of Hook-Fast Specialties. Upper School Semi Formal Dance Saturday, February 9 \| 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM \| Crowne Plaza - The Rotunda The permission slip must be submitted before tickets will be issued. Chinese New Year Celebration Friday, February 8 The Upper School will celebrate Chinese New Year during lunch with Chinese food and games.

	Middle School

	Eighth Grade Quebec Trip Friday, February 1 - Monday, February 4 Adieu to our eighth graders as they travel to historic Quebec City and Winter Carnival. Seventh Grade Trip to Nature's Classroom Tuesday, February 12 - Thursday, February 14 iPad Program Check out this great video Charles Tashjian '17 produced on his iPad to recap a CO2 lab in science class. National Junior Honor Society The Middle School faculty has announced its first list of students who are eligible to participate in NJHS. This past summer, the Middle School became a NJHS chapter, and Tim Greenwood will serve as the chapter adviser. Students in grades 7 and 8 who have earned an average of a B+ or better in their core academic courses during their time in the Middle School are eligible to submit additional information for consideration by the NJHS faculty council, which is made up of Middle School teachers. In addition to the scholarship standard, membership in NJHS is also based on standards of leadership, service, citizenship and character. Each of the students will receive a packet of information and a document to complete if they wish to be considered for membership. Several eighth graders are already members of NJHS from their previous schools: Matthew Thompson, Chase Mulvaney, Danil Randall and Mikhail Randall. Students who were informed of their eligibility are: Eighth Grade - Megan Caruso, James Frost, Elizabeth Furtado, Jackson Hawkins, William Janikies, Bridget Kist, Alejandro Perez, Anessa Petteruti and Abigail Siegel. Seventh Grade - Brianna Cardona, Abigail Costantino, Olivia DePasquale, Kent Hanlon, Clarice Jennings, Dylan Latham, Hannah Lawson, Susanna Mello, Katia Mendez, Alec O'del, Michael Santos, Georgia Saville and Alioune Sow.

	Lower School

	Planning a Town The second grade went on a field trip to DiLeonardo International to learn more from the experts about planning a town. They were given a tour around the facilities, loved exploring in the sample library, created birds-eye-view maps of their own using blocks, and played the role of client as a design team from DiLeonardo built their town using SketchUp. The students learned so much and are now more prepared to build their own town as a part of the newest project-based learning unit. Thank you to Lia Lehouiller '90 and everyone at DiLeonardo for hosting. Touring Hopelands As part of their project-based learning experience, fourth grade students received a personalized tour of Rocky Hill's most historic building, Hopelands, by Mr. David Carter. Students prepared questions in advance and used iPads to record the tour. They will be organizing their research into an informational podcast, which will answer the driving question, "If the walls of Hopelands could talk, what stories could they tell us?" Podcasts Second and fourth grades are now using podcasts as their weekly newsletters. In the fourth grade, students generate the topics, collaborate to write scripts, rehearse them, and record every Friday morning. This past week, fourth grade paired up with their second grade "learning buddies" to create a podcast "mash-up!" In the weeks ahead, fourth grade students will learn the app Garage Band and begin to play a greater role in the editing of the weekly electronic updates. Jump Rope for Heart Thursday, February 14 \| 9:30 -11:00 AM \| Sharpe Gymnasium K-5 students participate in the "Jump Rope for Heart" fundraiser for the American Heart Association to support research and educational programs. This event complements the Lower School program as they learn about keeping their bodies healthy in health class and helping others, while in PE class they learn jump-roping skills.

	Athletics

	Basketball Senior Nights Girls Varsity - Friday, February 8 at 4:00 PM Boys Varsity - Tuesday, February 12 at 4:00 PM Did you know you can read recaps of games on Rocky Hill's website? Navigate to the individual team pages and scroll down to "Schedules and Results" to read more. Injury Prevention Ullucci Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy in East Providence is hosting a free seminar about preventing shoulder and elbow injuries in athletes who play baseball or softball on Friday, February 22 from 10 to noon. Learn more.

	PTL

	Senior Seminar Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered to help with the Senior Seminar dinners. It truly makes for a wonderful event for the senior class. Faculty Appreciation Luncheon TOMORROW \| 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM \| Campbell The PTL is in need of a few volunteers to be lunch helpers during Lower School lunch so that the faculty has a chance to enjoy lunch together tomorrow from 11:15 to noon. Contact Dori Hirsch. LS PTL Meeting Thursday, February 7 \| 8:15 - 9:15 AM \| Campbell Conference Room Gala Committee Meeting Monday, February 11 \| 8:15 AM \| Campbell Conference Room PTL Nominations Nominations for the 2013-14 school year have begun. Click here to review the job descriptions. All positions are open. Please contact Sue Withers with any questions.

	Alumni Spotlight

	Super Man While many of us will watch the Super Bowl from the comforts of home, Roy Bennett '75 will be the man behind the lighting design for Beyonce's halftime show.

Send any news, photos, kudos and comments to Karen Gibson by Wednesdays at noon.

Archives of eCurrents can be found here.