Anchors  

- By Adrianne Finley Odell

Over Mother’s Day weekend I traveled to Columbus, Ohio to spend the weekend with my mom.  She picked me up from the airport and our first stop was my favorite donut shop, Resch’s Bakery on Livingston Ave.  Their donut holes and stick donuts just melt in my mouth and I have never found a better donut. From there we drove past the home where I first lived after I was born, just a couple of blocks away, before we moved to Gahanna- a suburb- when I was three.  (We drove by that house too!). I spent the rest of my years growing up there-- walking to both my elementary school and high school-- but taking the bus to middle school. That evening, my mom and I attended Gahanna Lincoln’s High School Musical, Mama Mia.  Such fun!  I remember performing on that stage myself when I was in high school.  This Mother’s Day morning as I write this, my mom is on her deck working on her bonsai trees-- snip, snip-- shaping them as needed.  She has been involved in bonsai for decades. It gives her joy and comfort. Later this afternoon we are meeting my uncle in Zanesville for lunch at Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl, a perennial favorite from growing up.  Actually, what I love most about Tom’s are their chocolates-- particularly the pink covered square chocolate truffles that are mint chocolate. All of these things are anchors for me. They remind me of moments from my childhood that were simple.  They are shared memories with my family. They are simple, sweet (clearly!), and they ground me when life is busy and often complicated.

On the flight to Columbus, I listened to On Being, Krista Tippet’s weekly radio show/ podcast.  This week’s interview, re-broadcast from 2011 in honor of Mother’s Day was with Sylvia Boorstein, a “Jewish-Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist.”  It is a beautiful and thoughtful piece that reminds us of the power of rituals in our lives and that these rituals can help to anchor us during times that are busy, confusing, or just plain hard.  In the interview, Ms. Boorstein references her own family and the influence of her grandmother on her life. She grew up with her two parents and grandmother in post-Depression America. Her parents worked.  She was an only child, so she spent a lot of time with her grandmother who helped her in all kinds of ways, but she was clear with Sylvia that it’s normal to have times when you are unhappy. Sylvia would say to her grandmother,  “But I’m not happy.” And she’d say — “Where is it written that you’re supposed to be happy all the time?” And I actually think it was the beginning of my spiritual practice that life is difficult. And then 40 years later, I learned that the Buddhists said the same thing, that life is inevitably challenging, and how are we going to do it in a way that’s wise and doesn’t complicate it more than it is just by itself?”

We do our children a disservice if we raise them to believe that things should always be easy or that they should always be happy.  Naturally, we want to shield our children from pain and the often ugly things that happen in our world. We can help them to become more resilient in the face of the inevitable difficulties that they will encounter if they have opportunities to experience the challenges, and learn and grow from them.  We can help them further by encouraging them to find anchors that they can count on, routines that support them, mentors that guide them, and opportunities to connect with themselves and others, whether it be family, school friends, outside clubs or athletics, or a spiritual community. Each of us has our tried and true ways that we re-charge, that we re-connect with ourselves--those things that anchor us in times of stress or anxiety.  Last week at Lisa Damour’s FAN talk, she too spoke of the need for these anchors for our children. She also spoke of the importance of stress and anxiety from a clinical standpoint, that without them there is no growth. Only when stress and anxiety is chronic is it something to be concerned about. Rather stress and anxiety is essential to building our brain muscles, and when we are right on the edge of too much, that is when we grow the most.  We must be ready to know what rituals are most beneficial to help us rebound before we get to that breaking point, and we can model that for our children and help them build their own toolkit to give them comfort in knowing they will always have their anchor.

- Monday - Friday, May 13th - 17th, Lower School Spirit Week
- Thursday, May 16th - Free Yoga at Roycemore, 5:00pm (All Ages Welcome)
- Friday May 17th - Middle School Dance, 7:00pm
- Saturday, May 18th - Young Evanston Artists at Raymond Park in Evanston, 10:00am - 3:00pm
- Monday, May 20th, Early Childhood Spring Sing, 9:00-10:00am (MPR Room)
- Tuesday, May 21st, Admissions Morning, 8:30-10:00am
- Thursday, May 23rd, What to Know Before You Go (For Graduating Seniors), 2:30-4:00pm
- Thursday, May 23rd - Free Yoga at Roycemore, 5:00pm (All Ages Welcome)
- Thursday, May 23rd, Spring Show, 7:00-9:00pm
- Friday, May 24th, Upper School Awards Assembly, 11:00am - 12:00pm (Parents Welcome)
- Friday, May 24th, Early Dismissal Upper School, 12:00pm
- Friday, May 24th, Middle School Field Day, 12:00-3:00pm
- Friday, May 24th, Upper School Prom, 7:00-10:00pm
 

Last Call!  Final Admissions Morning for the Spring

Do you have a friend who keeps asking about Roycemore? Or a neighbor who's intrigued about the school where you send your children? Let them know that our last Admissions Morning of the year is coming up!  This is a great way to see the campus and talk to faculty and students about what makes Roycemore unique.  

Final Admissions Morning
Tuesday, May 21st
8:30-10:00am 

JST 2020 China Trip

If you missed the Information Session last week, please know that all Upper School students can still sign up for the China Adventure Trip taking place during JST 2020. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip with a 6-city itinerary led by Roycemore faculty. To lock in the lowest price possible, enroll before the end of this school year.

Questions? Contact John Trowbridge 
 

Register Now for Summer Camp Before It's Too Late!

Summer camp at Roycemore starts in one month and some weeks have already filled up! A handful of camps only have a few spots left and other camps need a minimum number of campers in order to run. If you have been thinking of signing up for a particular camp, now is the time to register!

Camp Griffin- A long-standing tradition run by Roycemore staff. Sign up for one week or the whole summer!

Inspiration Factory - Theme-based enrichment camps taught by Roycemore Teachers with options ranging from Pre-K to 12th Grade. 

Roycemore Tripple Threat Basketball (Grades 5-8)  **With A New Price**
Little Chefs  (Grades JK - 1)
Animalistic Adventures  (Grades JK - K)
Author Study of Mo Willems (Grades JK - K)
Summer Gardens  (Grades 1 - 2)
Wacky Creatures  (Grades 1-3)
Inventors Workshop  (Grades 1-4)
Orienteering  (Grades 2-4)
Grossology  (Grades 2-4)
Lego Robotics  (Grades 3-4)
Fractured Fairy Tales  (Grades 3-4)
You Got Game  (Grades 3-6)
CSI Roycemore  (Grades 5-8)
Oh Snap! The Art of Photography  (Grades 5-8)
Tumbling  (Grades 5-8)
Studio Art  (Grades 6-12)

Let your child do something amazing this summer! 

Faces and Cultures is a cultural exchange organization based in Guatemala.  They are offering a summer exchange programs for Roycemore students between the ages of 11-17. 

American students attend a private, bilingual school during their stay in Guatemala with a pre-screened host family. Trip options include:

• 2-week exchange trip
• 3-week exchange trip
• 4-week exchange trip 

Then the experience continues in the fall when students from Guatemala come to the US for an exchange here in Chicago!  Guatemalan students will stay with Roycemore families and attend school on campus for an 8 week program. 

Contact Ana Gabriela Padilla if you your family is interested.

Lower School Spirit Week is May 13th - 17th.  All students in Grades 1-4 are encouraged to participate!

Monday, May 13th: PJ Day

Tuesday, May 14th: Crazy Hat/Hair Day

Wednesday, May 15th: Favorite Color

Thursday, May 16th: Fan Day (favorite sport/team or TV show)

Friday, May 17th: Blue and Gold Day

25% - That is the number of families that have chosen Roycemore as their AmazonSmile charity. AmazonSmile has the same products, prices and service as the Amazon you already know and love. If you are not currently using AmazonSmile to support Roycemore, you can do so by following these easy steps:
1. Login to Amazon
2. Click "Your Account"
3. Click "AmazonSmile Charity" 
4. Search for Roycemore 

That's it!  Start shopping on AmazonSmile knowing that your purchases will help support our school. 

 

YEA! Is This weekend! 

Young Evanston Artists (YEA) will be showcasing artwork made by many young artists here in Evanston. The work of Roycemore students will be on proud display at the Roycemore booth, hosted by our two amazing Art Teachers, Ruth Hecht and Annette O'Donnell. Stop by and be inspired!

YEA! 2019
Raymond Park, Evanston

Saturday, May 18th
10:00am - 3:00pm

Roycemore is proud to be part of the YWCA's annual Race Against Hate.

Sunday, June 16, 2019
7:30am
Floyd Long Field (Northwestern University)

There are four different race options to choose from:
- timed 5K
- timed 10k
- 5K walk
- Youth/Family 1 Mile

For more information about the event options, click here: Race Against Hate. 

Not a runner but want to still get involved? Contact Griffin Team Captains Darcy Aksamitowski or Bellamy Taylor Pines to help volunteer for Roycemore the day of the event. This can be a great option for parents who want to help while their student runs in one of the races.

Librarian Karrie Fisher holding up a copy of Ghost by Jason Reynolds,
the 2019 Caudill Award 1st Place Winner.

This week's Three Cheers goes to our very own Roycemore Librarian, Karrie Fisher! Karrie has been chosen to serve on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award Selection Committee. She will read hundreds of nominated books and will serve on the committee that chooses the 20 finalists. Once the Rebecca Caudill Award List is published, Middle School students from all over Illinois will read and vote for their favorite Caudill book. Karrie will also coach a Roycemore Caudill Challenge Team next school year to compete in interscholastic Caudill Challenge competitions. Congratulations to Karrie! 

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