Roycemore School Weekly Newsletter
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Griffinity
By: Adrianne Finley Odell
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In October, I wrote to you about our “culture code” at Roycemore, sharing the results of an activity that the Roycemore faculty and staff engaged in to define the culture of our school community. This culture code is now used when we are hiring new individuals to join our faculty and staff, and it reminds us why we believe in the value of our mission and vision at Roycemore.
In the process of creating our culture code, members of the senior admin team landed on a single word that we agreed captured the unique magic of Roycemore--
Griffinity
! As soon as the word was uttered, it was like a light bulb went on. Encompassing our namesake mascot, we defined it as:
Griffinity: (noun) The quality of being Roycemore-Griffin-like. Embodying a sense of community coupled with a sense of fun. Magical. Limitless. Unique. Authentic
. At once, it felt right. We had a word that embraced the strength, individuality, and creativity of the Griffin, and a sense of potential-- of infinite possibility.
- Griffinity is what Roycemore has always been. It has been there since the first graduating class of girls in 1919 chose the Griffin for Roycemore’s mascot.
- It was there when Betty Goerke graduated from Roycemore in 1948, went to Radcliffe (Harvard for girls, because they didn’t admit women at that time!) and she traveled around the world engaging in archeological digs.
- It was there when Donnis Hobson class of ‘66 went on to Stanford, followed by the University of Chicago medical school, then plastic surgery residency at Northwestern-- all at a time when it was rare for women to become surgeons.
- Griffinity was at play when Geoffrey Mark graduated from Roycemore in 1985, and after college found himself working as a production assistant in Hollywood. With the self-confidence fostered at Roycemore, he put himself in front of people who could see the unexpected things he could do on a computer, ultimately landing him opportunities to be in charge of creating visual effects for programs from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to Sharknado, to The Simpsons!
- More recently, the force of Griffinity transformed the life of Iman Amini, who came to Roycemore all the way from Kabul, Afghanistan. His dream?-- to graduate from high school in America and go to college so that he can return to Afghanistan one day and help create new opportunities for Afghans like him to lead profound lives. Through the college guidance he received at Roycemore and the support of teachers, host families, and even strangers, he is now attending college on a full scholarship...
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Coming Up on the Calendar
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- Thursday, December 19th - FREE Yoga at Roycemore, 5:00pm (Last Yoga for 2019)
- Friday, December 20th - Wassail, 2:00-3:15pm, All School Event
- December 23rd - January 3rd - Winter Break (No School)
- Monday, January 6th - Classes Resume
- Monday, January 6th - First Day of January Short Term (Upper School Students)
- Thursday, January 9th - FREE Yoga at Roycemore, 5:00pm (First Yoga for 2020)
- Saturday, January 11th - Early Childhood Expo 9:00-11:00am (RSVP Here)
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- Jan. 8th - MS Girls Basketball vs CMS Away, 4:00pm
- Jan. 10th - MS Girls Basketball vs Willows at Home, 4:00pm
- Jan. 13th - MS Girls Basketball vs Parker at Home, 4:00pm
- Jan. 14th - MS Boys Basketball vs Baker at Home, 4:30pm
- Jan. 15th - US Girls Basketball vs OLT Away, 5:30pm
- Jan. 16th - US Girls Basketball vs Acero Cruz Away, 4:00pm
- Jan. 16th - MS Boys Basketball Home vs Solomon Schechter, 4:30pm
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Save the date for Roycemore's Early Childhood Expo on January 11th. This event is open to the public along with current families. There will be STEAM activities, crafts, snacks, story time, and lots fun things to do. Spread the word and feel free to invite neighbors and friends. This event is free and open to anyone with young children.
Early Childhood Expo at Roycemore
Saturday, January 11th
9:00-11:00am
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Announcing New Middle School Head
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Following an exhaustive search with candidates from around the country and the globe, Adrienne Floro has been named as Roycemore's next Middle School Head, commencing the 2020-21 school year.
Adrienne Floro served as the Middle School Principal for Chartiers Valley Middle School in PA until August of 2019. Prior to that she was the Assistant Middle School Principal and District Assessment Coordinator for Quaker Valley Middle School. Adrienne has been a fifth and sixth grade teacher, providing instruction in math, English language arts and social studies. Prior to moving from the classroom to school administration, Adrienne served as the Academic Specialist in the Quaker Valley School District serving the needs of gifted and talented students. She has a BS in Secondary Social Studies from Duquesne University, and an MA from Carnegie Mellon University in Public Administration. Adrienne was a finalist for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in 2012 and was named the Outstanding Middle-Level Administrator of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Middle Level Educators in 2018-19...
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Roycemore’s 6th Annual Hour of Code was a success! Thank you to everyone who participated. We encourage all parents to help our Griffins continue to code at home. Here are some of the activities they can do (all are free!):
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Apps:
Kodable
Run Marco!
Lightbot
Scratch Jr.
Tynker
Box Island
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Parents, not sure your coding skills will pass the test? Read the article below on why you should also learn to code:
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The whole school will come together on Friday for a Roycemore tradition, Wassail! Students will tie blankets together for Project Linus, sing holiday songs from around the world, and enjoy cocoa and cookies. Families are welcome to come and be part of the event!
Wassail
All-School Holiday Celebration
Fri. December 20th
2:00-3:15 pm
Middle and Upper School Students are encouraged
to wear "ugly" holiday sweaters!
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The Patriot's Pen is an annual essay competition sponsored by the national Veterans of Foreign Wars. Students write an essay on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. This is the first large Humanities writing assignment of the school year and we are very proud to share that 8th Grader, Macy, won first place! Many other Middle School students also received Awards including
Conor, Keira, Aidan, Xavier, Kees, James, Rachel, Faelyn, and Krishna.
Plus, this year Ms. Milner also received the Citizenship Education Award in recognition of her work promoting citizenship education and patriotic principles in her teaching. We are so proud of Macy, Ms. Milner, and all the Griffins who participated.
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Don't forget to shop at
Amazon Smile
for all of your last minute holiday needs. Roycemore receives a percentage back from all qualified purchases. Happy Shopping!
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Ms. Finley Odell challenged the Middle School Art Club to create a holiday card for our school and this year's winner was Sophia K. in 6th grade. Congratulations to Sophia and thank you for sharing your artistic talent with all of us at Roycemore.
Coming to YOUR mailbox soon and Happy Holidays!
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Congratulations to 6th Grader Jacob and 10th Grader Daniel for winning 1st place in the Kumbaya Chess Tournament this past weekend. They represented Roycemore School and took the top spot for the U1200-Rated division. Well done!
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Academic Calendar for 2020-2021
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The Academic Calendar for the 2020-2021 school year at Roycemore has now been released. Please click below to see important dates throughout the school year or visit the
Quick Links
page on our website.
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The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
(SAIC) is one of the most influential art and design colleges in the world. They also offer weekend classes for students (ages 10-18) throughout the year as part of their
Continuing Studies
department. Students get to enjoy SAIC's state-of-the-art facilities and regular visits to the museum as part of their class curriculum.
Spring classes start in February and registration is now open.
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