NOTICE · No Yoga class this Wednesday · See you in the Fall!!

US Final Exams June 1, 4, 5, & 6

Monday, June 4
5:00 - 6:00 pm · Lower School Culmination Night

Wednesday, June 6
· Great America trip Middle School
· Last day of school for Lower School

Thursday, June 7
· Last day of Upper School exams and Middle School classes
8:30 am · Senior Breakfast
9:45 am · 8th grade graduation practice (& optional late start for MS)
10:30 am · Senior graduation practice
11:00 am - 12:30 pm · Middle School P3 Expo
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm · Middle & Upper School Awards Ceremony

Friday, June 8
10:00 am · Middle School National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony
11:00 am · 8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony / Graduation
4:00 pm · 12th Grade Commencement

Sunday, June 17
RACE AGAINST HATE- Roycemore will again be participating in the YWCA's Race Against Hate. There are four different race options to choose from: a timed 5K and 10k, a 5K walk, and a Youth/Family 1 Mile. To join the Roycemore Team, click here: Race Against Hate Team Roycemore. For more information, click here Race Against Hate or contact team captains: Annette O'Donnell [email protected] or Darcy Aksamitowski [email protected].

When Donnis graduated from Roycemore in 1966, it was a class of all girls. (The school had only recently begun accepting male students.) She sought out a co-ed experience and became the first student from Roycemore to be accepted to Stanford University. At the time, Stanford accepted  two men for each woman. It would be among the first times that Donnis found herself in an environment dominated by men.

Donnis wanted two things from life: to be a doctor and to have a family. In 1966 the country was just beginning to see women pursuing careers. When she advanced to the University of Chicago for her MD, she was one of 15 women in a cohort of 90 medical students. When she secured her surgical internship at Northwestern Hospital she was the only female of 30 interns in the surgery rotation. Dr. Donnis Hobson was the 3rd woman ever admitted to the plastics program at Northwestern. When she opened her  practice in plastics, her partner was the first board certified African American woman in the country.

Donnis had a great start in her career, and it was Roycemore that gave it to her. Donnis’ father served on the Board of Trustees with Dr. Hal Griffith, whose children attended Roycemore as well. Dr. Griffith was the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Northwestern. Dr. Griffith took Donnis under his wing and inspired her to pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor. “He gave me great opportunities when I came to Northwestern for a rotation during my last year of medical school.  Imagine a 4th year medical student instructed in suturing by the chief of plastic surgery! If I did it imperfectly, he would remove the stitches and have me do it again. He was so patient and kind to me. And I had that because of Roycemore.”  Donnis explains that she wasn’t the most studious of people, “surgeons want to do, they don’t want to contemplate! But I read the 15 books a year from the list of required reading, and I enjoyed learning Shakespeare, but I am the only doctor I ever met who didn’t take Physics or Calculus in High School because they were not offered by Roycemore in those days. My foundation was so good, however, that did not matter.” Roycemore provided her the opportunity to learn - and to just be a kid- to learn what her dreams were and the opportunity to pursue them.

While medicine has opened to women more in the years following her education, plastic surgery is still only 25% female surgeons. She notes that the profession has been difficult on many women who struggle to maintain a marriage, a family and a career. Her best advice on reflection, “Each day the priorities change. Women often feel that their children must come first. I found that if I was flexible, and each day I evaluated the options for the day whether it was a sick child or a surgical emergency, I needed to decide what was more important. It was that flexibility that has enabled me to have a successful career and homelife.”

Donnis is now approaching her retirement in October. After 25 years in practice including private practice in pediatric plastics, breast reconstruction and her recent service to San Mateo county helping prisoners, the uninsured and other vulnerable populations, she looks forward to what may come next. In between those years she managed to shepherd a marriage of 46 years, raise children and watch grandchildren grow, and also picked up an MBA from San Francisco State.

“I set these goals as a kid, to be a doctor and to have a family. Maybe I should have done more - maybe there is more left to do.”

As part of our efforts for continuous improvement, we invite you to give us your feedback! An email was sent to all parents last week inviting you to give feedback on programs and activities at Roycemore. Please complete this survey by this Thursday, May 31st!

Summer Programs at Roycemore are offered for students as young as three and as old as 18. Dates run from June 11th - August 10th. As you are planning your student’s summer activities, be sure to check out the options at Roycemore. Several new opportunities have recently been added.

On Friday May 25th, separate awards assemblies were held to recognize middle and upper school students for their achievement.

Middle School Soccer
· Most Valuable Player · Jared Marantz
· Coach’s Award · Theo Saltouros

Middle School Volleyball                 
· Most Valuable Player · Lisa Condurat
· Most Valuable Player · Michaela Fallon

Middle School Girls Cross Country
· Coach’s Award · Jahnavi Gorla
· Coach’s Award · Macy O’Donnell

Middle School Boys Cross Country
· Coach's Award · Sanjeev Gorla
· Coach's Award · Theo Saltouros
 
Middle School Girls Basketball           
· Most Valuable Player · Molly Daniel  
· Coach’s Award · Natalia Bretones

Middle School Boys Basketball
· Most Valuable Player · Jared Marantz
· Coach’s Award · Mark Cico
· Coach’s Award · Theo Saltouros

Upper School Soccer
· Most Valuable Player · Riley Chenard
· Coach’s Award · Aaron Myrold

Upper School Girls Cross Country
· Most Valuable Player · Tatum Hunsader
· Coach’s Award · Jenny Wan

Upper School Boys Cross Country
· Most Valuable Player · Ry Swaty
· Coach’s Award · Thomas Ellis
· Coach’s Award · Zak Showers

Upper School Girls Varsity Volleyball
· Most Valuable Player · Rachel Cico
· Coach’s Award · Cara Marantz
 
Upper School Girls Basketball
· Coach’s Award · Haddie Broughton-DeLong
· Coach’s Award · Hahrim Choi
· Dedication · Leanne Pena
 
Upper School Boys Basketball
· Most Valuable Player · Kevin Chen
· Coach’s Award · Thomas Ellis
· Coach’s Award · Michael Lazenby
 
Varsity Boys Volleyball
· Most Valuable Player · Tony Zhang
· Coach’s Award · Ben Hurley
· Coach’s Award · Aaron Myrold
 
Junior Varsity Boys Volleyball
· Coach’s Award · Chenghao “Bubble” Li
· Coach’s Award · Trip Griffin

Community Service Club
Special recognition for commitment to others and leadership
· Ellen Sumner
· Yunhan Jin

National Honor Society
· President · Yunhan Jin
· Vice-President · Ry Swaty
· Secretary / Treasurer · Alanis Gonzalez

In addition to those listed above, many students were recognized for their engagement in a variety of clubs and activities at Roycemore. Thanks to our students who took advantage of the many activities and opportunities at Roycemore.

Roycemore School is planning to have a float in the Evanston Fourth of July parade this year. If you are interested in participating in the making of the float, we will be building it at school the week of June 25th. We are in search of a flat bed truck/ trailer for the float, volunteers to build, and volunteers to participate in the parade. The parade starts at 2:00 pm on July 4th and is over around 4:00 pm, when we will relocate to Roycemore for a community picnic / barbeque. Following the picnic / barbeque, a group will walk down to the waterfront to enjoy the Palatine Band followed by fireworks. Please email Adrianne Finley Odell to let her know if you have a truck or flatbed, went to participate in float building, participate in the parade, and / or participate in the picnic / barbeque at Roycemore following the parade.

We are happy to share with you that this year we will welcome Guatemalan students to campus through the Faces and Our Cultures Program. These young participants spend nearly two months living with a host family while attending classes and participating in extracurricular activities at school. The program has led to wonderful friendships and provides our students and our Guatemalan guests with valuable cultural experiences.
In order to participate in the Faces Program, Guatemalan students apply to be Cultural Ambassadors of their country and are carefully selected by the Faces & Our Cultures Team. They go through a preparation process during the year and also prepare cultural projects to share with their host family and school.
This fall, our young cultural ambassadors will arrive October 16th, stay with their host families and join our school community for the following 7.5 weeks, and depart December 9th.

If you are interested in hosting a student, and participate in this life enriching experience, you can contact Adrianne Finley Odell at [email protected] or contact Gaby Padilla, State Coordinator, at [email protected].

US host students also have the opportunity to participate in a Cultural Exchange Experience in Guatemala during the summer (optional program). This experience can be customized from 2 up to 4 weeks.

The City of Evanston celebrates young artists with a group art exhibit. This year, Roycemore School will be showing a sampling of student art, grades first through eleventh. It is on the 2nd floor of the Noyes Cultural Arts Center (927 Noyes St.) and will run through the summer; opening reception June 1 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm.

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