Welcome to our new social worker, Dr. Gretchen Glader!

Roycemore is pleased to welcome Dr. Gretchen Glader to our school.  She comes to us with excellent experience and recommendations in both public and private school settings and has worked with gifted children.

She also has a private practice providing therapy support to young people.  She is already getting to know our students and faculty.  Here she is getting to know the second graders!

Thur. Sept. 13- Picture Day!

Thur. Sept. 13- FREE YOGA (every Thursday) through Phoenix Yoga Project, 5:00 pm

Fri. Sept. 14- Mandatory college admissions meeting for Seniors, activity period

Tues. Sept. 18- Mandatory college admissions meeting for Juniors, activity period

Wed. Sept. 19- Yom Kippur- School Closed- EDP available

Thurs. Sept. 20- Mock College Admission event for Seniors

Fri. Sept. 21 - Middle School Social Outing (in Chicago following all-day field experience)

Mon-Tues. Sept. 24-25- Middle School overnight trip to Indiana Dunes

Mon. Sept. 24- Mandatory college admissions meeting for Sophomores, activity period

Week of Sept. 24- Lower School Leadership Week

Wed. Sept. 26- What School Could Be  book discussion on the book by the same name (details below), 5:00 pm

Thur. Sept. 27- College night for Juniors and families, mandatory, 6:00-7:00 pm

Fri. Sept. 28- Mandatory college admissions meeting for Freshman, activity period

Sun. Sept 30- Bike the Ridge

Tues. Oct. 3 - Financial Aid night for Seniors and families, optional, 6:00-7:00 pm

Tues. Sept. 11- Middle School Cross Country tream runs in "The Regina Invitational" at Locust Park in Wilmette

Wed. Sept. 12- Upper School Cross Country at Lake Forest Academy

Thurs. Sept. 13- Middle School Volleyball at Roycemore, two matches, 4:00/5:00 pm vs North Shore Country Day

Thurs. Sept.13- Upper School Girl's Volleyball team plays at Roycemore vs Lycee Francais, 6:00 pm

Fri. Sept.14- Upper School Girl's Volleyball team plays at Lake Forest Academy, 5:30 pm

Congratulations to the Upper School Volleyball Lady Griffins on their great match at Beacon Acadmey last week. The match was anybody's ball game; both teams traded the lead several times. The Griffins fell to Beacon in a close third game and lost the match 2 games to 1. 

by Adrianne Finley Odell

Over the summer a robin decided to build a nest in the eaves on our porch. We have a swing on the porch and would often sit there in the late afternoon or evenings as we watched the robin build her nest.  Before long, the robin had laid her eggs and spent enormous amounts of time sitting on the eggs until one day we heard tiny little peeps and witnessed the mother and father taking turns coming to and from the nest to feed the little ones.  It was amazing how much these little guys could eat. It was a huge job for the mom and dad as they seemed to be constantly out in the yard, digging up worms or bugs and bringing them to the nest. A few weeks later we witnessed the heads of the baby robins poking up above the nest and when the mom or dad came to the nest with food the little guys were craning their skinny little necks back and forth to try to be the first to get fed.  It was the first time in my life where I had had the opportunity to watch the stages of the first months of a baby robin’s life play out right in front of me. But what came next was the most interesting part.

One day I noticed that the parents were no longer coming to the nest.  They left the birds to fend for themselves. After a lot of peeping from the babies, who by now had transitioned from a head of pink skin to one covered with fluffy dark feathers, they realized that if they wanted to eat, they would need to leave the nest.  The most daring of the two, clawed its way to the top of the nest and took a look around. You could see that it was taking everything in at length. It was the first time it had seen what the world outside the nest looked like. Prior to that precise moment, the world was one that was limited by its line of sight of leaves and twigs, its sibling, and its parents coming to and from the next with food.  Now, the bright sunshine and color of the world around it beckoned, calling it to join in. After a little bit of a wobble, the brave robin took flight. It opened its wings and took a leap of faith that it was strong enough to leave the nest. And it did! Initially it plummeted a few feet downward before flapping its wings and charging into a branch in a nearby tree. Not catching the branch completely, it fell from the first branch to another below it where it barely caught the branch, but righted itself and rested.

Now it was time for the sibling. Having seen its family member go ahead of it, the sibling was a little more brave and worked its way out onto the ledge to take flight.  Unfortunately for this robin, its wings didn’t work quickly enough, and it dropped four feet to the porch railing below it but landed safely there and took it all in stride.  Soon it was off on its own with the satisfaction of having learned to fly and then fending for itself by searching for critters in our yard.

I thought about these little guys a lot since witnessing the incredible amount of learning and growth that took place over such a short period of time.  I wondered how it might have been different if their parents hadn’t left them to fend for themselves so they could master the new skill of learning to fly.  I believe that knowing when to jump in and when to pull back is one of the most challenging aspects to parenting. It is so hard to see our children struggle.  To watch them crash land. Truth be told, however, sometimes they need it in order to truly grow and learn. Sometimes the best thing we can do is give them space to master new skills.

While observing the little robins working on their new skills, something caught my eye in my periphery.  There, just five yards away, one of the robin parents perched on a nearby fence. They weren’t far away at all.  They hadn’t abandoned their babies at all. In fact, one of my neighbors shared with me that they had seen the mother with one of the young robins, within a week or so after they left the nest, foraging for food together in the yard.  They were staying close, but instinctively understood the need to pull back to ensure their offspring learned true independence.

Our annual Upper School Picnic last Friday was a smashing success!  It was a true joy to see our students taking part in the tug of war, watermelon eating contest and water balloon competition...a good time was had by all. Thank you to everyone, and student government members in particular, for putting on such a great event!

French II students decorating their classroom with new posters and a flag.

Lower School students are paired with an Upper School student who will be their special buddy all year!

Say "Cheese"! Roycemore School picture day is Thursday, September 13!

Free Community Yoga at Roycemore School - We are thrilled to partner with Phoenix Yoga Project to offer free yoga classes every Thursday at 5:00 pm. Founded by Roycemore alumnus and trustee, Scott Kinsloe, Phoenix Yoga Project offers free yoga to help bring people across a community together. Spread the word that everyone is welcome to join our community for this free and healthy weekly class! The first class is this Thursday, September 13.

Wednesday, September 26, 5-6pm

Location: Roycemore School, 1200 Davis St., Evanston

Roycemore School, Northwestern University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), and Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy are co-hosting a book chat on Ted Dintersmith's new book, What School Could Be, a candid report on the state of public education in America. This is a follow up to Ted's April FAN talk in Evanston. Ted is also the co-author of the book, Most Likely to Succeed. 

Refreshments will be served. Childcare available for 2- 12-year-olds. Registration required.
Questions? Email  Adrianne Finley Odell, Head of School, Roycemore School at [email protected].

To view the FAN talk - Click Here
To read an excerpt from the book - Click Here

Bike the Ridge on Sunday, September 30, 2018 - Ridge Avenue, between Howard and Church streets will be closed on Sunday, September 30, 2018 between 9 am and 1 pm to ALL vehicular traffic for Evanston’s annual Bike the Ridge! Children are encouraged to decorate their bikes and get out and ride! Roycemore will join in on the fun with a tent on our front lawn near Davis. Stop by for some face painting, Roycemore ‘swag’ or just to say “HI”! We invite anyone from the Roycemore community to help with our Bike the Ridge tent. Contact Alicia Forestall-Boehm at [email protected] to let us know when you can volunteer your time during this fun Evanston event!

Wondering what to do and when? Well, we have a doc for that! The Recommended Timeline for the College Application Process is designed for all Upper School Griffins. Feel free to download and consult it. We have seven colleges coming to meet our juniors and seniors in person, be sure to bookmark Roycemore’s Coordinator of College Counseling Stacia Campbell’s blog for up-to-date information.

Admissions needs you! As we speed ahead into the fall, Amanda Avery, Director of Admissions seeks volunteers to represent Roycemore at upcoming fall school fairs and admissions events. It takes a village to help spread the word about our amazing school! If you are interested in becoming an Admissions Ambassador, contact Amanda directly: [email protected]. Thank you!!

We are happy to share with you that this year we will welcome Guatemalan students through the Faces and Our Cultures Program. They will spend 7.5 weeks (October 16th - December 9th) living with a host family while attending classes and participating in extracurricular activities at school.

The program leads to wonderful friendships and provides our students and our Guatemalan guests with valuable cultural experiences.

These young participants apply to be Cultural Ambassadors of their country and are carefully selected. They go through a year long preparation process and prepare cultural projects that they will share with our community.

Here is a VIDEO of the program, which will give you a very insightful idea of how the program works.

We are looking for families to host them! Everyone is welcome to participate!

If you would like additional information or 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].

A quick link to all the Northwestern community diversity and inclusion events. Northwestern encourages community members to take part in events like these to increase their cultural competency and understanding. View All Upcoming Events.

See what is going on at Northwestern this month and next. Concerts, lectures, athletic events - there is always something going on. View September Events.

Please be aware of the major resurfacing and bridge repair project that is taking place on Lake Shore Drive between Monroe St. and Grand Ave. The project is on an accelerated schedule that will require lane closures reducing Lake Shore Drive to two lanes in each direction. Work began on August 27 and will continue to the beginning of October.

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