Parent Volunteer Newsletter

February 2024

Dear Parents,

Get ready for an unforgettable winter adventure at Bromley Mountain this weekend! Whether you're a seasoned pro or a first-time skier, there's something for everyone at this exciting event. And when you're ready to take a break from the slopes, come inside and enjoy delicious food and drinks at the Wild Boar Tavern (in the base lodge). Rumsey will host an Apres Ski event on Sunday and Monday afternoon from 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM. Sunday afternoon will include music and entertainment by Four Track. We hope to see you there!

When we return from Bromley, it's time to start spreading love and joy again, and what better way to do so than by supporting a good cause? Our annual Valentine's Day Fundraiser is back and we encourage all families to help make a difference with your contributions. All proceeds will go to two organizations: The Joe Garassino Foundation and Flint Rising. You can show your love and support by purchasing hearts. Hearts are $1 each; students will be able to purchase hearts at recess, during lunch, and after school on February 9, 12, 13, and 14. By purchasing a heart, your child's name will be entered into the raffle. The raffle drawing will be held on Valentine’s Day. If you're interested in volunteering to help sell hearts, you can sign up here. Parents wishing to purchase hearts for boarding students are able to do so through Venmo or PayPal.

In case you missed out on dropping off clothes and gear for the swap, we are adding one more donate day which will be next Friday, February 9.

Sincerely,

Rumsey Circle Parents Association

Weekend Activities

Academic Calendar

Upcoming Events

February 9-14

Valentine's Day Fundraiser

Lower School - we're looking for a couple more volunteers to help sell hearts to students during lunch in the dining hall and at pick-up on Lower School Street. Tickets will be sold Feb 9-14 and the raffle drawing will take place on Feb 14.

Volunteer Here

Yoga w/ Julie Haesche

Join us for a delightful morning yoga experience exclusively for the parents of Rumsey Hall School. Explore a variety of yoga practices, including breath work, meditation, & postures - from gentle seated stretches to empowering standing & balancing poses. Come together to unwind, recharge, & experience the blissful benefits of this post-drop-off class. All skill levels are welcome. Mats & props are provided, but feel free to bring your own.

Class is led by Julie Haesche, a certified and award-winning yoga teacher and owner of Washington Wellness.

Class duration: 50 minutes

Location: Rumsey Hall / Allen Finkelson Gallery

Cost: $25 / class

*Minimum of 3 people per class

Pilates w/ Heather

Pilates is for EVERYBODY. Join us for morning Pilates where we will be incorporating the basics of Classical Pilates Mat work with an extended repertoire of contemporary Pilates exercises. Focusing on strength, stability, posture, flexibility, and breath. Bring your own mat and props

will be provided.

Heather Szymanski is a fully certified Pilates Instructor who teaches at Mind Body Connection Pilates Studio and Phys-Ed, both located in New Milford CT.

“Pilates is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit.” – Joseph Pilates

Class Day: Friday mornings 8:15-9:15

Class Duration: 60 minutes

Location: Rumsey Hall/Gymnasium

Cost: $20/class

*Minimum of 3 people per class

The 2024 Annual Fund is off to a great start. Last year 99% of the Lower School supported the Annual Fund and we reached 75% participation school-wide. Your contributions make so many great things possible at Rumsey. Please consider making a gift to the Annual Fund.

Make A Gift

Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans

Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad

Matthew F. Delmont

Half American is American history as you’ve likely never read it before. In these pages are stories of Black heroes such as Thurgood Marshall, the chief lawyer for the NAACP, who investigated and publicized violence against Black troops and veterans; Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., leader of the Tuskegee Airmen, who was at the forefront of the years-long fight to open the Air Force to Black pilots; Ella Baker, the civil rights leader who advocated on the home front for Black soldiers, veterans, and their families; James Thompson, the 26-year-old whose letter to a newspaper laying bare the hypocrisy of fighting against fascism abroad when racism still reigned at home set in motion the Double Victory campaign; and poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a war correspondent for the Black press. Their bravery and patriotism in the face of unfathomable racism is both inspiring and galvanizing. In a time when the questions World War II raised regarding race and democracy in America remain troublingly relevant and still unanswered, this meticulously researched retelling makes for urgently necessary reading. Learn More

Weyward

Emilia Hart

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Learn More

8 Rules of Love

Jay Shetty

The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Think Like a Monk offers a revelatory guide to every stage of romance, drawing on ancient wisdom and new science.

Nobody sits us down and teaches us how to love. So we’re often thrown into relationships with nothing but romance movies and pop culture to help us muddle through. Until now.

Instead of presenting love as an ethereal concept or a collection of cliches, Jay Shetty lays out specific, actionable steps to help you develop the skills to practice and nurture love better than ever before. He shares insights on how to win or lose together, how to define love, and why you don’t break in a break-up. Inspired by Vedic wisdom and modern science, he tackles the entire relationship cycle, from first dates to moving in together to breaking up and starting over. And he shows us how to avoid falling for false promises and unfulfilling partners.

Learn More

Parent Articles

Meta's New Messaging Rules to Keep Our Kids Safer Online

In making the three Screenagers movies, it has been shocking to me the number of teens who have shown me messages from strangers, usually over Instagram but other socials too. I am talking about inappropriate and creepy messages. Thus, you can imagine my relief that FINALLY, last week, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, announced they would no longer allow teens under the age of 16 to receive direct messages on Instagram from anyone they are not connected to.

Decoding Adolescent Decision-Making On-Screens and Off

As a physician and the creator of the "Screenagers" movies, I've always been fascinated by the intricacies of adolescent decision-making. Through the Screenagers podcast, I've had the opportunity to delve deep into this topic, and in a podcast episode I released yesterday, I share some of those insights with you. I invite you to listen to the Podcast, but if you prefer to read, here is a summary of the podcast:

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