Dear St. Andrew's Families,

There was a moment during Sunday's Mud Run when I thought Tad was going to call it a day. We were standing with a herd of people waiting to crawl through a thin opening and over rock-laden mud while having icy water poured on us. Tad began drifting away from the crowd to get a better look at the obstacle. We were only 50 yards from the finish line and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he chose to keep drifting in that direction.

He had already run more than 3 miles in the mud, used a rope to pull himself up two separate cliffs, climbed over a 15-foot wooden wall (where he helped a student also make the climb while perched on top of the wall), slid on his back into a mud pit, shimmied across a narrow log bridge, had mud thrown at him, slid himself again on his back into muddy water filled with ice, and swung from a rope like Tarzan into another mud pit. He had done more than enough to prove his commitment.

Eventually he drifted back to the herd and waited quietly, patiently. He hesitated when his turn finally came to consider how he was going to get his 6’3” frame flat enough to make his way through. He took a deep breath and plunged in. Half a minute later he emerged on the other side (picture below) and headed toward the finish line, cheered on by students lining the course.

Many of you know Tad for his remarkable eloquence and appreciate his unique ability to set an ambitious course for St. Andrew’s year-after-year, but there’s also the side the students saw on Sunday — a much older man they usually see in a coat and tie covered in mud and leading more than 200 of them in support of leukemia research.

Sincerely,
Will Robinson ‘97
Communications

P.S. - You can find more pictures of the run on flickr.

South Africa Chapel

The trips to Haiti and Israel later this year were made possible, in some measure, by the success of St. Andrew's trips to South Africa over the past 20 years. Students shared their experience traveling across the southern tip of the Africa with Joleen Hyde during Wednesday Night Chapel this week. You can watch their reflections on our YouTube channel by clicking below or download and listen from our podcast page.

Long Weekend Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Dave Miller wears many hats, but few highlight his organizational skills better than his work helping to secure transportation for traveling students during break. The School can arrange rides to Philadelphia International Airport, BWI and the Wilmington Train Station. There is also a coach bus to NYC. If you need Dave's help, please email him your travel itineraries by October 1. You can visit the Parent Center for more detailed information.

Parents Weekend October 18-20

The schedule for Parents Weekend is now online. We urge you to come, meet our faculty, talk with other parents and most importantly, find time on our beautiful campus to talk to your son or daughter. You can learn more about the weekend and register on our website. Click Here

Please Note: Students will be responsible for scheduling Parent-Teacher conferences after they return from Long Weekend.

In the Classroom

Lindsay Wright never stops speaking en français or engaging her French I students as they learn different verb tenses. Cold-calling on students leads to nervous laughter, but, ultimately, success.

Eventually, the students will experience what was happening just down the hall. Donald Duffy and Carbery Campbell '15 were having a conversation en español about the 1983 independent film El Norte as part of a solo exhibition in Spanish 4.

Trips Abroad Reminder — Haiti, Israel

Diahann Johnson and Jay Hutchinson will once again offer a service trip to Haiti over spring break. You can learn more about the trip here and by contacting Diahann.

Terence Gilheany will lead students on the path he took in Israel and Palestine as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in 2012. You can learn more about the tour here and by contacting Terence.

Student Life

Caitlin Porrazzo '15 and Emma Porrazzo '15 are hosting a MathCircle in the Amos Lecture Hall on Sunday afternoons for faculty children. The sisters brought in the scientific method, some scales from the chemistry lab, and ratios to determine whether a Double Stuff Oreo actually has double the cream than a regular Oreo. The kids found that there is actually more than double the cream, leading some to question the marketing team at Nabisco.

A St. Andrew's Moment

Seniors gather in the Headmaster's Common Room after Wednesday Night Chapel to enjoy cookies and tea and read the latest edition of the student newspaper, The Cardinal. You can kick back and read The Cardinal by clicking here.

Full School Calendar — Athletics Calendar