Dear St. Andrew's Families,

I was busy trying to get socks on my 4-year old at 7:30 a.m. this morning when Tad took the above shot of the Polar Bear club. I didn't realize I had completely forgotten my commitment to the Polar Bear club until he emailed me the pictures at some point while I was driving the morning carpool.

There was no, "where were you?" There wasn't even a "good thing I was there." It was simply "here you go." Tad just stepped in where he was needed, made sure kids who went into the water came out, took a picture and sent it to me. And then he went on with the business of being Headmaster.

It's like earlier this week when Tom Nicklin '15 noticed that a student's bike had a broken kickstand and fixed it or when Evan Zhong '15 took it upon himself to clean the Moss kitchen for no other reason than he was there and it needed to be cleaned.

You may have heard how tired we all are right now, but the community hasn't missed a beat thanks to these sorts of small acts of kindness from every member. We continue to serve in organized ways like donating to the Food Bank of Delaware ahead of Thanksgiving (below), but I feel a special peace in these smaller acts. We'll try to put a capstone on the first three months tomorrow when the students power clean their rooms and common areas as a thank you to the housekeeping staff.

Please have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,
Will Robinson ‘97
Communications

Andy Kwon '15 Honored by American-Turkish Friendship Alliance

The American-Turkish Friendship Alliance honored Andy Kwon last night for his essay on improving education in Delaware at a special reception in Wilmington. Andy was inspired by the vision of Governor Markell on his recent visit in writing about the importance of parental investment in the education of their children.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Roach for encouraging Andy to write the essay and to Harvey Johnson for joining Elizabeth in supporting him at the event.

In the Classroom

Drawing I students finished their work with charcoal this week culminating in the completion of 24" x 30" drawings.

Hawk Mountain

A group of students braved the elements over the weekend for an overnight camping trip to Hawk Mountain, about 20 miles west of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Peter McLean and Carol Ann Pala led the trip that included a night hike to the pinnacle, playing in a river of boulders, and lunch the next day at the farm of Charlie Durkin '97 where they heard from a third-generation dairy farmer and met Trixie (below).

Meet August Saguil '17

August Saguil '17 has put a face to the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines last week. The Manila native, who plays the guitar and tried football for the first time this fall, made a simple announcement during lunch asking for support and the community responded with more than $1,200 in donations for Habitat for Humanity International.

Educational Excursions

Members of Elizabeth Roach and Emily Pressman's Humanities class traveled to New York last week to see Samuel Beckett's classic "Waiting For Godot" on Broadway.

John McGiff exposed the senior art majors to the majesty of the Barnes Foundation collection of impressionist paintings in Philadelphia on Monday.

Experience St. Andrew's

College admissions representatives have been on campus all day learning more about the St. Andrew's experience. They began the morning engaging in the academic life of the School by hearing from students in different disciplines and at every level from Spanish I to AS Physics (below).

The representatives spent the rest of the day visiting classes and meeting with students and faculty. They will join us for Thanksgiving dinner and Chapel tonight before returning in the morning for the V Form College Day.

Mock Trial 2014!

The Delaware High School Mock Trial competition will take place February 21-22 and the team of lawyers is ready to take on State of Delaware v. Cameron Paul. The question at hand is whether Paul intentionally caused the death of Thor Brush by tampering with the brakes of his car. You can find the full case here.

If you are at all interested in helping or applying your legal background and experience to the team's preparation please contact Will Robinson at wrobinson@standrews-de.org.

A St. Andrew's Moment

Bill Wallace brought his infectious spirit and love of coaching back to the pool this winter after spending time on his sabbatical last year coaching swimming at Bates College. The team took part in an intra-squad meet yesterday and one would have thought it was the Olympics by the way they cheered for each other.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

Please let Dave Miller know of any updates to your child's transportation by emailing him at damiller@standrews-de.org.

▪ November 23 — V Form College Day (details)
▪ November 23 — Leave for Thanksgiving Break, 12:00 p.m.
▪ December 2 — Return from Thanksgiving Break, 6:00 p.m.
▪ December 13 — Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m., Engelhard Hall
▪ December 14 — The Nutcracker, 7:30 p.m. Engelhard Hall
▪ December 15 — Service of Lessons & Carols, A. Felix duPont, Jr. Chapel
▪ December 18 — Winter Vacation Begins, 12:00 p.m.

NEW! The 2014-2015 Calendar is now available by clicking here.

Full School Calendar — Athletics Calendar