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Find your voice. Speak your mind.

 BULLETIN
 May 13, 2016
 Volume 35, # 33
CALENDAR
REMINDERS & UPDATES
FRIDAY, MAY 20
Thing in the Spring & Roman Banquet- Special Schedule
Community Supper- Ilaria's and Nils's team
4:00-6:45 PM
SPORTS CALENDAR
TUESDAY, MAY 17
JV Ultimate AWAY vs. PVCICS
4:30 PM start time
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18
MS Ultimate HOME vs. PVCICS
4:15 PM start time
Getting to School On Time
As the final weeks of the school year unfurl ahead of us, we ask for parents' cooperation and support in ensuring that students who either drive themselves or are driven to school arrive on time, prior to 8:00 AM. Timely attendance at Morning Meeting is often a challenge, but has been notably lacking in recent days.  
Used Textbook Sale

Mark your calendars! Save the date! The Academy used textbook sale returns this year to be held on Wednesday, July 13 at 6:00 PM. Watch for an email in early June from your class parent that will contain a listing of textbooks needed for the sale. Questions?
Wednesday F Block, 5/18
Next week's Wednesday F Block will begin with our final council meetings of the year - a time to reflect on progress made and start scheming for next year. Parents who have indicated interest in being liaisons for our councils are welcome to attend these meetings if possible (2:10-2:35 PM). We will close out the block with team meetings, when we'll take team photos for the yearbook and have some time to practice for the Academy Olympics that will take place on Friday, May 20 in conjunction with the Roman Banquet.     
Hosting Opportunity:
The Erding-Charlemont Exchange 2016-17:
 

Once again, Academy students are invited to participate in the Erding-Charlemont exchange program. While preference is given to rising sophomores, we are willing to consider Academy students from other grades as well. The exchange involves hosting a 10th grade German girl - Felicia or Maria-Laura. The exchange begins at the end of October and ends at the end of December. The following summer, the Academy student host has the opportunity (but is not required) to spend up to a month in Erding/Germany. Erding is a picturesque Bavarian town near the Alps, about an hour from Munich. For more information, please contact Sabine Mauri.
The Academy Singers
Please enjoy this video of our own Academy Singers performing for students and faculty at Sanderson Academy in Ashfield.
Academy Singers
Meet The Academy's Newest Faculty Member: 
We are pleased to announce that Kara Fagan will join the Academy faculty for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Ms. Fagan has a B.A. in American Studies and English from Colby College, and is currently defending her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Iowa, where she is earning a doctorate in American Studies. She has previously taught Humanities at the Stoneleigh-Burnham School (2006-2009), where she also coached field hockey and softball. We look forward to welcoming Ms. Fagan officially in the fall.
Parents of Rising Seniors:
Neale Gay is available to meet with students and families over the summer to get a head-start on college applications and essay writing. Please do not hesitate to e-mail him early and often.
Climate Connections
Students in the 7th grade continued what they began studying on their class trip by digging soil test pits on campus.
Climate Connections
Climate Connections Climate Connections
Climate Connections
Spring Concert Details (Thursday, May 26)
Students participating in the Spring Concert on Thursday, May 26 will be transported to Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls at 11:30 AM  in order to rehearse on stage. These students should bring a bag lunch with them, to be eaten at Memorial Hall. Students who are not participating in the concert may be dismissed at 11:30 AM with prior parental permission - please contact Jen Rizzi in the Main Office to provide said permission.  Afternoon buses return to the early schedule on that day, and buses will be departing from Memorial Hall at 3:15 PM, with any students who have remained on campus being transported to the hall prior to that time.  
SPRING CONCERT VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE ORDERING
Tom Adams of Reelife Productions will be recording our upcoming concert. Professionally-produced DVDs will be available for $20 each, including shipping.  Alternately, you can view or download the video for $15. You can pre-order now, or wait and order after the show by clicking here. 
Summer Programs
Summer Programs
WORK BEE MAY 21:
PLEASE JOIN US!
Please sign up to help get the campus ready for reunion weekend and for graduation, and to move us forward on some important projects. Before the Work Bee, the APC will meet in Tartarus (the new classroom accessible from the Common Room) from 9 to 10 AM.  The agenda includes the election of co-chairs for next year and the setting of a priority for spending in school year 2016-2017. All are welcome. Work bee projects will begin at 10. Coffee and refreshments will be available!
There are inside and outside tasks to be accomplished, and you can sign up to help for morning (10-12) or afternoon (12-2) hours, or for the full time. Thanks to those who have already done so.
French IV

Mme. Valdez - French IV
Students in French IV just finished reading the short novel, Le Petit Prince. As a review, they took turns playing a puzzle game forming images from the book and speaking about the scene depicted.
From the Desk of
Dr. Bloomfield:
Making Progress on The Honor Code
In April I wrote with an update about the Honor Code discussions we’ve been having at school. Those conversations have been ongoing, and have evolved in the past weeks. Students have made some interesting discoveries through these chats: there is a difference, they say, between a code of values and a set of rules, and they have more issues with some of The Academy’s rules than with its values. Some have voiced that punishments at The Academy are too slight to encourage anyone from changing; others feel that Academy adults overuse punishments to the point where they lose meaning. Some question how much the student body has even bought into the Honor Code itself.
After our last discussion at the end of April, one student approached Mrs. BZ and me about leading her own discussion about rules, breaking rules, and consequences at The Academy. The goal was to move beyond adult-led discussions and to get peer-based input from students. So far, two of these discussions have occurred.

I write this article not simply as an update, but to point out how remarkable this process has already been. We have taken three assembly-length periods to have these discussions, and by doing so have let students know that the Honor Code and the enduring values of The Academy remain important to the adults. We have also had frank and open discussions because we value student opinion on these matters. And now, students themselves are beginning to take on the responsibility for continuing these conversations, which shows me that it is important to (at least some of) them.
Outside of the precepts of The Honor Code, The Academy continues to value students, as individuals and as agents in their own educations and in their lives. I am proud of how your children are receiving this project, and prouder still that they’re beginning to make it their own.
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