The MacDuffie School Newsletter, Volume 19, Issue 12, May 24, 2013

Greetings from the Head of School

Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians, I first want to pass on a sincere thank you from the families who were involved with the lightning strike on Tuesday. Families at MacDuffie have been very supportive in their well-wishes, but they have also respected the request for privacy, which is important as students recover from this incident. Secondly, I want to remind you of the importance of filling out the parent survey. We use the general responses of students, parents, and employees to evaluate our progress against the goals of our mission. The more complete our feedback, the better sense we will get. That said, it is difficult to respond to individual yet anonymous concerns. If you have a concern that is specific in nature, I urge you to contact me or someone else at MacDuffie, so that we may address that concern fully. Finally, as veterans of MacDuffie life, we often take knowledge of our special events for granted. I thought I’d add some detail about our end-of-year activities for those of you who are new to the community: Our seniors come together at the Senior Tea and Senior Banquet to reminisce and to receive their senior gift from the Parents’ Association. The yearbook dedication is revealed, and seniors receive a copy of their yearbook to read and pass around for signatures. Many faculty and staff members are also in attendance. The 8th Grade Rite of Passage allows us the opportunity to celebrate the work of our

8th graders, and recognize their transition into the Upper School. Magnolia Day is significant in that it allows our seniors time to rehearse for graduation. It is also a time for us to have an assembly to recognize students with non-academic awards. Seniors then have an opportunity to “take over” with a fun assembly and activities for all students. Our book buy-back program also takes place on Magnolia Day. Academic Convocation is an academic awards ceremony, focused mostly on grades 6 through 11, while Commencement celebrates our graduating class. All of the finer details of these events are available elsewhere in ATC. As you can see, our end of year is a special time of celebration and reflection. There are numerous opportunities for our community to come together to celebrate the end of a fantastic year. If, after reading ATC, you have any questions or concerns about our year-end schedule, please do not hesitate to contact us. Have a great Memorial Day weekend, Regards,

Steve Griffin Head of School

MacDuffie News and Notes

Math Team Celebrates its Winning Season! Mr. Peter Shelburne, Mathematics Teacher

The 2013 MacDuffie Math team was honored at a banquet sponsored by Mass Mutual on Friday, May 17. The six members of our team, Ling (Kelly) He, Fan (Helen) Zhou, Xinyi (Dela) Lin, Jiachang (Harry) Liu, Kehan (Thomas) Chen, and Bingyan (James) Ren, plus alternate Shangzhe (Jason) Dai, enjoyed a festive meal and celebrated being the first place finishing team in the Western Massachusetts Mathematics League for the year 2012-2013. The team received a trophy and also a plaque with the schools of previous winners. Deerfield Academy is the only other school appearing on the plaque, as it has had the first place team in all the years recorded on the plaque. It was exciting for everyone to see MacDuffie's name added to this prestigious plaque! Two of our individual players were also honored: Ling (Kelly) He for having the highest Senior score in the league, and Jiachang (Harry) Liu for having the highest score overall in the league. Congratulations to everyone on the Math Team for an unforgettable year!

Left to Right: Jiachang (Harry) Liu, Shangzhe (Jason) Dai, Xinyi (Delasoul) Lin, Bingyan (James) Ren, Ling (Kelly) He, Kehan

(Thomas) Chen, Fan (Helen) Zhou, Mr. Shelburne

End of Year Special Events – 2013

EVENT

WHEN AND WHERE

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

WHAT SHOULD BE WORN

BY STUDENTS

Last regular day of School

Friday, June 7th 8:00 am – 3:00 pm

All Students, faculty & staff Regular School Attire

Senior Tea Wednesday, June 12th 5:30 pm Library

Seniors Girls: Dresses or skirts and blouses

Boys: Slacks, shirts and ties

Senior Banquet Wednesday, June 12th 6:30 pm Dining Hall

Seniors, faculty & staff Girls: Dresses or skirts and blouses

Boys: Slacks, shirts and ties

Seniors and Chorus Rehearsal

Book Buy Back

Thursday, June 13th 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Abbey Chapel

Mt. Holyoke College

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Student Center

All Seniors and All Singers Senior girls, wear commencement shoes

Magnolia Day &

Book Buy Back

Friday, June 14th 8:00 am – 3:00 pm

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Student Center

All students, faculty & staff must attend.

11th grade Ushers and Seniors only

Nice school clothes in the am for Assembly and Rehearsal at the

Abbey Chapel, Mt. Holyoke College Casual attire for the pm Grades 6-11 Casual attire

8th Grade

Rite of Passage Friday, June 14th

Beginning at 7:00 pm Little Theatre

8th Grade students, faculty, families and friends.

Nice school clothes

Academic Convocation

Saturday, June 15th 3:00 p.m. Gymnasium

All faculty and students must attend; families and friends

are invited.

Girls: Dresses or blouses with skirts or slacks

Boys: Dress shirts and slacks

Commencement

Sunday, June 16th 3:00 pm

Seniors

Arrive by 2:15 pm

Students grades 6-11 Arrive by 2:30 pm

Abbey Chapel

Mt. Holyoke College

All students, faculty and staff must attend; families and friends are invited.

Girls (6-11): White dresses or blouses and skirts; white shoes

preferred Boys (6-11): Dark slacks, white

shirts, maroon ties, dark socks and shoes

Senior Girls: Ankle-length white dresses/white shoes

Senior Boys: Navy blue blazers, white slacks, white dress shirts,

MacDuffie ties, dark socks and shoes

Varsity and Middle School Ultimate Teams Participate in Tournaments Mr. Peter Shelburne, Math Teacher

The Varsity Ultimate Team travelled to Greenfield to participate in an all day tournament on May 11. The team played four games throughout the day and won three. The only loss was an early morning game with the Northampton High School JV team. The team had victories against Groton, Amherst JV B, and Four Rivers JV. The most exciting game was against the Amherst JV B, where we squeaked out a 13-11 win. The only downside to a great day was a downpour during the last game. All of our players ended the day tired, and also wet!

The MacDuffie Middle School Ultimate players traveled to Amherst for the Amherst Middle School Invitational Tournament on May 19. Our ten players played three games during the long day and had two big wins. The first was against the Amherst Middle School Purple team, and the second was against the Hilltown Charter School's team. At the end of the day, we lost to the Westfield B team during an extremely wet game. All in all, it was a very successful day. This was the first time MacDuffie has participated in a middle school tournament, and it was a great experience. Congratulations to all the players for a tremendous day of Ultimate!

Advanced Biology Students Compete at MIT Ms. Karen Anderson, Biology Teacher

Two teams of Advanced Biology students went to the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair at MIT Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4, and competed against students from all over the state (400 students, 350 projects in all). One of the teams from MacDuffie, shown left, consisting of Rui (Rae) Liu, Jiansen (Jason) Jiang, and Chi (Bob) Huang, received an Honorable Mention for their entry dealing with the use of cosmetics to combat the Asian Long-Horned Beetle. Congratulations!

From the Registrar Ms. Pat Boudreau

2013-2014 PERMISSION and MEDICAL FORMS Medical, Permission, and Miscellaneous forms are available on the MacDuffie website, www.macduffie.org, under “FORMS”. If you would prefer a hard copy of these forms, please stop by the front office, and a copy will be provided to you. ALL forms must be returned to the Registrar’s Office no later than Thursday, August 1, 2013. Regarding Medical Forms, if a student has an appointment with his/her physician after this date, please advise Pat Boudreau of the appointment date by calling (413) 255-000, ext. 217, or by e-mail at pboudreau@macduffie.org. STUDENT REGISTRATION/VERIFICATION INFORMATION FORM This form is available on the MacDuffie website (under “Forms”) for downloading. It is important that we receive this completed form with all pertinent information. Please return this form along with the completed and signed Permission Forms to the Registrar’s Office. SCHOOL CALENDAR The MacDuffie All School calendar (located in First Class) has been updated for the 2013-2014 school year. First Class can be accessed through The MacDuffie School website at www.macduffie.org (under “About Us”). Please refer to the calendar often for any updates. UPDATED STUDENT/PARENT INFORMATION Please notify the Registrar, Pat Boudreau, of any changes in address, telephone numbers (home, work or emergency), or e-mail address by calling (413) 255-0000, ext. 217, or e-mail your change(s) to pboudreau@macduffie.org.

Exam Week Information June 10 – June 14, 2013

Middle School: Exam week is a special time for all Middle School students. Sixth and seventh grade students do not take exams (unless they are in upper level courses). Eighth graders take exams in all five major subjects: English, math, science, history and language. There is no extra help on these days. All Middle School exams take place in the Gymnasium. Eighth grade exams are scheduled to take one hour but students may stay for an extra half hour if they so choose. Lunch will be served from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm on exam days. Because faculty members are busy with many things during these days, it is important that students not arrive before they are scheduled and that they leave at the dismissal time if possible (if no event is planned). Grade 6

• Monday, June 10: Community Service Day at the Red Gate Farm in Ashfield, MA: 8:30 am–2:30 pm

• Tuesday, June 11: Beach Trip to the Connecticut Shore: 8:30 am–3:30 pm

• Wednesday, June 12: Cultural Tour in Classrooms and Student Center: 8:30–11:30 am International lunch off campus: 11:30 am–2:30 pm

• Thursday, June 13: NO SCHOOL

• Friday, June 14: Magnolia Day - 8:00 am–3:00 pm – ALL students attend

Grade 7

• Monday, June 10: Community Service Day at Red Gate Farm in Ashfield, MA, 8:30 am–2:30 pm

• Tuesday, June 11: Beach Trip to the Connecticut Shore: 8:30 am–3:30 pm

• Wednesday, June 12: Students taking the math exam - Math review with Mrs. Kuzdeba, room 202 from 8:30 am–11:00 am. The math exams are from 12:45 pm–2:15 pm. All other 7th grade students: Cultural Tour in Classrooms and Student Center: 8:30–11:30 am International lunch off campus: 11:30 am–2:30 pm

• Thursday, June 7: NO SCHOOL

• Friday, June 8: Magnolia Day – 8:00 am–3:00 pm – ALL students attend

Grade 8

• Monday, June 10: Science exam from 8:15 am–9:45 am; history exam from 12:45 pm–2:15 pm

• Tuesday, June 11: English exam from 8:15 am–9:45 am; language exams from 12:45 pm–2:15 pm

• Wednesday, June 12: Mandatory math review with Mrs. Kuzdeba, room 202 from 8:15 am–11:00 am. Math exams are from 12:45 pm–2:15 pm.

• Thursday, June 13: NO SCHOOL

• Friday, June 14: Magnolia Day – 8:00 am–3:00 pm – ALL students attend Eighth grade Rite of Passage: 7:00 pm, Little Theatre – students, families & friends

*Specials - This time is only for students who take two courses in the same discipline, such as two math classes or both French and Spanish. When this happens, the Registrar will reschedule the exams. The lower course level is taken during “Specials”. All students must plan to take exams at the scheduled time unless they have the conflict listed above. All rescheduling of exams is done by the Registrar through Mr. Addicks.

• Upper School exams are generally over by 3:15 pm.

• Upper School students are not required to be in school unless they have an exam.

• The library will be open throughout exams from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

• Lunch will be served from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm on exam days.

• After-school coverage will continue throughout the exam period; however, please arrange to have students picked up as soon as possible after the last exam of the day.

• Bus riders: There is no change to the regular morning pick-up time. Departure time is 3:45 pm.

Middle School Exam Schedule Date 8:15 – 9:45 am 12:45 – 2:15 pm Monday, June 10 Science History Tuesday, June 11 English Language Wednesday, June 12 Math After-school coverage will continue throughout the exam period however, please arrange to have students picked up as soon as possible after the last exam of the day.

Bus Riders: There is no change to the regular morning pick-up time. The departure time is 3:45 pm.

Upper School Exam Schedule Date 8:15 – 10:45 am 12:45 – 3:15 pm Monday, June 10 Science History Tuesday, June 11 English Language Wednesday, June 12 * Specials Math

Commencement

Sunday, June 16 – 3 pm

Mount Holyoke College Abbey Memorial Chapel

One of our most revered traditions is our beautiful Commencement ceremony. Required dress at Commencement is as follows:

Grades 6-11: Girls must wear white dresses or white blouses and skirts. White shoes are preferred. Boys must wear dark slacks, white shirts, maroon ties, and dark socks and shoes. Seniors: Girls wear ankle-length white dresses and white shoes. Boys wear navy blue blazers, white slacks, white shirts, MacDuffie ties, and dark socks and shoes. Prior to graduation, boys will be provided with MacDuffie ties to wear at graduation. The ties are being presented by the Parents’ Association as a Senior gift.

Dress for Formal Occasions (including formal dinners, awards assemblies, student government elections, concerts, and other cultural events): Girls should wear dresses or blouses with skirts or slacks. Boys should wear dress shirts with ties and slacks. Convocation awards will be presented here at the campus the day before Commencement, on Saturday, June 15th at 3 pm. Please note: This is a change in time from previous years.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Students Learn How to “Play it Smart”

Ms. Wendy Weiss, Counselor

On Friday, May 10th, Marty Toomey, Deb Arnold and Josh Toomey from the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling came to MacDuffie School to present a program called "Playing It Smart." It was a movement oriented, interactive training with a goal of increasing teenage knowledge of gambling and addiction. There was a PowerPoint® presentation and lots of discussion among student participants. The goal of the program is to educate students about gambling, clarify facts vs. illusions, and to increase self confidence with the hopes of empowering students to best articulate their understandings and beliefs. The students were engaged and animated and seemed to learn quite a bit. In addition to the activities they participated in, they were given information about the CAPS (Creative Activities for Probability and Statistics) program which was created by teenagers and about setting up a T.A.G. (Teens About Gambling) Team.

Prom Prom Prom Prom –––– Saturday, June 1Saturday, June 1Saturday, June 1Saturday, June 1stststst

6:30 pm6:30 pm6:30 pm6:30 pm ---- 11 pm11 pm11 pm11 pm

Tickets Tickets Tickets Tickets areareareare available available available available for $35for $35for $35for $35

Yankee Pedlar, Holyoke MA Yankee Pedlar, Holyoke MA Yankee Pedlar, Holyoke MA Yankee Pedlar, Holyoke MA

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Open House

Thursday, June 20th @ 5:00 pm

Reminder to all STARS

We will need your help, even though school

is not in session. Please e-mail Ann Rivers

at arivers@macduffie.org if you can join us!

Community Service in the Middle School Mrs. Susan Fischer, Middle School Coordinator

On Tuesday, May 14, the 6th Grade Wellness class continued their Community Service unit with a trip to the Lupa Zoo in Ludlow. When we arrived at the zoo, we were greeted by Zoo founder, Joan Lupa, and were given almost an hour to walk around and explore the zoo on our own. While a few of our students had visited the zoo once before, on this day we were able to visit before it was opened to the public, a unique experience. The assorted statues located throughout the zoo grounds proved to be wonderful photo ops for the class! After our tour, we were then put to work. Entering one of the food preparation rooms, we were immediately struck by the horrible stench of rotten food! What humans consider not suitable for consumption, it seems zoo animals crave! Once we adjusted to the smell, we put on our gloves and got busy preparing a meal of romaine lettuce and mealworms for the bearded dragons and other lizards. We then helped prepare a meal for the binturong, comprising of monkey biscuits, mangoes, and apples. In addition to feeding animals, we prepared a dust bath for the Chinchillas and spent time observing a monkey family. Our final task was to feed Geoffrey the Giraffe his morning snack of branches and leaves, and in the process we learned all about giraffes and their environment. And of course, no field trip is complete without a stop for ice cream on the way back to campus – a highlight of the day!

Bearded Dragon Binturong Chinchilla

Book Buy Back

Our annual book buy back will be held this year on Thursday, June 13th primarily for our boarding students since there is no school that day, and on Magnolia Day, Friday, June 14th for the rest of our students. The book buy back will be held in the Student Center from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Please encourage your student(s) to remove extraneous papers and erase all pencil notations prior to book buy back. Students may return their paperback books. As in the past, workbooks may not be returned unless they have not been used.

Spring Sports Awards Mrs. Susan Fischer, Athletic Director

We celebrated the end of the Lacrosse, Tennis, Ultimate, Frisbee, Rowing, and Badminton seasons at the Spring Sports Awards Night on May 23 where members from each Varsity team were honored for their commitment and dedication to their teams. Congratulations to the following award winners: Most Improved Player Most Valuable Player Soyeon Jung ’15 – LACROSSE Kiely Ryan ’13 - LACROSSE Chien-Minh Tran ’14 – BOYS TENNIS Nicholas Suarez-Canton Trueba ’13 – BOYS TENNIS Maya Pope ’17 – GIRLS TENNIS Natalie Pappas ’15 – GIRLS TENNIS Daniil Kim ’14 – ULITMATE FRISBEE Thanaporn Nuansanam ’14 – GIRLS TENNIS Caleb Shelburne ’14 – ULTIMATE FRISBEE Coach’s Award Players’ Award Madison Jung ’14 – LACROSSE Michaila Papamichail ’13 - LACROSSE Pedro Figueiredo ’14 – BOYS TENNIS Pedro Coutinho ’13 – BOYS TENNIS Gabriella Mercier ’17 – GIRLS TENNIS Sky Huansuriya ’13 – GIRLS TENNIS Jiachang Liu ’14 – ULITMATE FRISBEE Skyler Anderson-Coughlin ’15 – ULTIMATE FRISBEE Special recognition was awarded to Chi Huang ’14 (Most Valuable Player) and Xiaoyu Lu ’14 (Most Improved Player) on the Badminton team. The Crew team honored three rowers for their commitment and participation on the team this spring: Jessica Schwartz ’14, Naomi Phelps ’14, and DaWei Lin ’15.

* * * * * * *

Mr. Bill Ross – “Last Call” Mr. Meirion George, Dean of Students

On Friday, May 10, we welcomed Mr. Bill Ross to present his “Last Call” program, educating students on substance and alcohol abuse. Mr. Ross’s presentation was entertainingly unique, and included juggling, unicycling, tales of personal experience, and jokes galore, while addressing a difficult subject. The purpose of the program was to increase awareness of substance abuse, including tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Mr. Ross is a recovered alcoholic, and therefore was able to share with the students many experiences of abuse, negative influences and poor choices. He was also proud to share some coping mechanisms which helped him recover and stay away from these situations. While his juggling skills were fabulous, he was able to connect the skill to the serious message of his act. From balancing a ladder on his chin, to juggling tennis balls and a knife, to performing a juggling act on a unicycle, Mr. Ross kept the audience engaged at all times. His primary message to all adolescents is that there are concerned adults surrounding you who are there to help you at all times.

The College Search Mr. Bill Morris, College Counselor

How Does One Find the “Right” College?

1) Defining criteria: Students need to have an idea about which factors are most important to them as they

research potential college choices. There are many things that distinguish one college from another, and a student needs to consider which of these are the most important to his or her search. Here are a few examples:

Academics: majors offered, special academic programs (Honors program, study abroad, etc.) Size: There is a great difference between attending a small college with 2,000 students or less and attending a large university of 15,000 students or more. Location: Distance from home, school setting (urban, suburban, or rural), location and size of nearest major city, etc. Cost: Tuition/Fees, Room & Board, Travel, etc. Admission Profile: Grade Point Average, Test Scores (SAT/ACT and/or SAT II’s), etc.

2) Researching Potential Colleges: One of the best tools available to research potential colleges is an

internet-based program called Naviance. Naviance allows students to research various colleges & universities, develop a list of colleges based on personal criteria, and in the senior year, track application materials and admission decisions. All MacDuffie juniors receive information on activating their Naviance account beginning in February of each year, and the student accounts can be accessed both at home and at school. There are also many other sources of information about colleges on the Internet. In addition to each college’s individual website, there are several sites devoted to searching for colleges and providing specialized information. Below are some selected sites recommended by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

The College Board: www.collegeboard.com CSO College Center: www.csocollegecenter.org Peterson’s: www.petersons.com Princeton Review: www.princetonreview.com The Common Application: www.commonapp.org KnowHow2Go: www.knowhow2go.org

3) Visiting Colleges: No matter how much research is done, there is no substitute for a campus visit to help

decide whether a college is a good fit. The spring and summer of junior year and fall of senior year are the best times to visit a college, although it is also possible to visit after a student has applied. A student may also be able to schedule an interview with the admissions office during his or her visit. The MacDuffie School does allow each senior a limited number of school absences for the purposes of college visits.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when visiting a college, recommended by NACAC’s Guiding the Way to Higher Education:

• A good campus visit takes 2-4 hours. Don’t try to visit more than two schools in one day.

• Figure out an itinerary: where you want to travel, how you will travel, how far one school is from another

• Call the admissions office at least two weeks ahead of time to schedule your visit. Admissions offices have set times for tours and information sessions.

• Research each college before you go visit so you’ll have specific questions to ask.

• Focus on people, places, and programs in your visit.

• Talk to as many people as you can: students, faculty, dining hall workers, tour guides, etc.

• Look at a campus newspaper and check out campus bulletin boards.

• Wander through snack bars and student centers and observe how students interact with each other.

• Keep a list and write down your impressions of each college you visit. Compare and contrast each college you visit.

The 3rd Annual MacDuffie Ultimate Frisbee vs. Faculty and Alumni games were played on

Monday, May 20. Thank you to the young alums who came back to visit campus to challenge the

MacDuffie Varsity team! And thank you to the faculty and staff who participated in the JV contest,

many in their first game ever. There were many sore muscles the next day!

Left, Shawn McBride (Math teacher, Residential Advisor and Volleyball coach) makes an amazing throw as 7

th grader Nate Varney and 8

th

grader Parla Hilal look on.

Below, Kevin Hillman (French teacher) displays textbook form throwing the disc. Tres bien!

Susan Fischer (Athletic Director), center, makes a pass to teammate Peter Shelburne

(Math Teacher, Ultimate Frisbee Coach).

Above, John Bosee (Residential Advisor, Tennis Coach) blocks a pass from

8th grader Evan Murdock.

Juniors Scott Zhang and Caleb Shelburne make a go for the disc with Brian Magnier ’11 and Brandon Serafino ’10.

Meagan D’Amico ’11 tries to block a pass from Junior Jake deHahn (left).

Greg Rougellis '12 (left) makes a

sensational catch as 8th grader

Matt Costa and Junior Harry Liu look on.

8th Grader Henry Ho, right, makes a pass as Mika Saarela (Upper School Head, History

Teacher) looks on for the disc.

Brandon Serafino '10 (above right) looks to block a pass from Junior Caleb Shelburne.