Dear Parents, 

We are looking forward to seeing the kids at this Friday Night's Social from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Please drop off and pick up your child in the LS Carpool lane. The cost is $5 or a donation of a bicycle. Student Council will be supplying light refreshments, and DJ Jam Jordan will provide the music. Students may bring friends from other schools, but will need to let Mrs. Smith know in advance.  

Your child has also been given order forms for spirit wear. The deadline for ordering SPIRIT WEAR is Friday, February 26th. Please download the order form, and contact Chris Tate if you have any questions.  

Tickets are ON SALE NOW for the US musical, Footloose. This high-energy, dance musical runs March 17-19, 2016. Order your tickets TODAY. Footloose is produced and directed by Nick LaCasse, choreography by Heather Bybee, and music by Jane Best! 

Pi Day 

On Monday, March 14th, we will celebrate Pi Day, which is also our celebration of Randy Clark's birthday.  We'll have a hot dog lunch on the Green and some Pi-throwing! Students will have the chance to purchase raffle tickets the week before Pi Day.  The winners will be able to throw a "Pi" at the brave faculty members who volunteer! This was one of Randy Clark's favorite Middle School events, and Pi Day is our way of keeping his sense of humor and fun spirit with us in the Middle School!  

Open Casting Call!  

We are looking for student volunteers to help break down bikes for our Bicycles for Humanity shipping container.  The nationally syndicated Chicken Soup for the Soul Hidden Hero series, which airs on CBS on Sunday mornings, will be filming our students in action! Please email Chris Tate if your child would like to volunteer.  We will gather at 2:00 p.m. on March 5th at the James Island O'Quinn campus.

Winning Collage Self-Portrait: Grace Guarino

Congratulations to 8th grader Grace Guarino, who won Honorable Mention for her collage self portrait in the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Contest. The process for the Collage Self-Portrait began with taking a photo of each student that had half of their faces covered in shadow. To enlarge their 8"x10" photo, students were taught how to draw a graph on 18" x 24" paper using a yard stick.  For the next step in enlarging the portrait,  an acetate graph was attached over the photo, which enabled students to draw what they saw in the corresponding squares. This took a lot of concentration, and once the students understood how to proceed, they learned that this was an easy way to enlarge a picture without using technology or a projector. After the portrait was drawn, india ink was applied to the areas in shadow and all pencil lines. The areas left were collaged with papers of the student's choice. Some of the students painted the papers they used, while others used recycled papers from other art projects, newspapers, and scrap book papers. Each portrait was unique in how the papers were torn, cut and applied to their work. 

P-51 Mustang

Public Forum:  7th Grade Latin Project-Based Learning 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss

Upcoming Days in Rotation

Monday, February 29th - Day 5

Tuesday, March 1st - Day 6

Wednesday, March 2nd - Day 7

Thursday, March 3rd - Day 1

Friday, March 4th - Day 2 

Reminders

• The 2016 Summer Program, Camp Cyclone, is now online on the webpage under the Current Parent tab. Many of our "tried and true " camps are offered as well as several new camps. We hope this will assist you with your summer planning. 
• Note that Lower School carpool begins at 2:55 now instead of 2:50.
• Wednesday, March 2nd is Read Across America Day.  Please remind your child to bring in a gently used book for the Annual PG Book Drive.  Also, remember to wear red and white to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday!
• Tickets for PorterPalooza are now on sale!  Click here to purchase your tickets!

Chess Team in State Championships on Saturday, Feb. 27 

The chess team has been hard at work this week practicing for the South Carolina Chess Association State Championships that will be held THIS SATURDAY! Please come out and support the chess team at Charles Pinckney Elementary School, 3300 Thomas Cario Blvd, Mt. Pleasant from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. GO CYCLONES! Big thank you to Coach Derek Duncan for mentoring this great team!

The team had first place finishes in TWO divisions at the Georgia Peach Open in Atlanta last weekend. This was the first time the team has competed in an out-of-state tournament. The team that went to Atlants included Leo Li, Fletcher Aylor and Paulo Hitopolous (pictured below left), William Berger, Chad Mason, and Anderson Berger (pictured right) and Will Barnes and Owen Pierce (not pictured). WAY TO GO TEAM!

Practice photos above by first-grader, Anne Hyde! 

Legos Robotics in Third Grade

Third grade learning to program Legos Robotics.  They will use the concepts they learn here to design a motorized part in their imaginary ecosystem.

Visiting Reader

Mr. Childs Smith, Upper School English teacher, visited Mrs. Wey's first grade class as a guest reader.  His son, Rucker, was Star of the Week!

Fifth Grade Book Brags

 This week in 5th grade reading, the children showed off some amazing things they learned during their Book Brag projects.  Chloe Alderson is pictured with her 3d diorama, Campbell Skelly is pictured with his character cut-out, and Georgia Lewis's visualization quilt is hung in the background.  The children also made an iMovie trailer to persuade their classmates to read the book that they enjoyed.  Awesome work!

Basketball Shootout

The Lower School Basketball Shootout is an annual event where Lower School students (grades third – fifth) shoot a specific number of shots to see who makes the most baskets.  The preliminary round was held during Lower School PE classes, and students competed in the finals during Community Time this week.  Congratulations to our winners!  Click here for the full list of participants and winners!

Bucket Filling in Second Grade

Mrs. Sallee's second graders are learning all about bucket filling. Students created their own buckets sharing what fills their invisible bucket. 

Farewell to Mrs. Currie!

 While we are very sad to say goodbye to Mrs. Currie, we are excited for her and her husband as they begin this new phase of their life together.  Mrs. Currie has brought a great deal to our students and has made Porter-Gaud a better place.  All week long, students and faculty showered Mrs. Currie with well wishes for her next adventure and the upcoming arrival of baby Savannah.

Cyclone Morning Show Debut!

Fourth Grade Patriot's Day Video

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-egNNgiFc8

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act: it is an attitude”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Upcoming Days in Rotation

Monday, March 7th - Day 3

Tuesday, March 8th - Day 4

Wednesday, March 9th - Day 5

Thursday, March 10th - Day 6

Friday, March 11th - Half-Day - Not a day in the rotation - $2 dress down day.  If a student is not dressing down, he/she should be in regular uniform.

Reminders

• Friday, March 11^th is a half day.  Dismissal will be at 11:30am.  We will not have Extended Day and we will not have Upper School carpool.  All students must be picked up in Lower School carpool at 11:30am. 
• Friday, March 11^th is also a $2 Dress Down Day –The proceeds will help support the Parent’s Guild spring gala – PorterPalooza!! The gala will raise money for the Teacher’s Wish List. To purchase tickets and learn more about the event go to: http://www.porterpalooza.com/
• We will host a “New Parent” coffee in the Lower School library on Thursday, March 10 from 8:00am to 9:00am. We will share helpful hints to help you navigate the remainder of the year. 
• We will host a third grade parent meeting on Thursday, April 7^th at 6:30pm in the cafeteria.  We will discuss the transition between third grade and fourth grade.

Boxcar Project

Mrs. Wey’s reading class shared projects based on The Boxcar Children. Their assignment was to create a boxcar that they would like to live in similar to the children in the book.   

Guest Readers

Mr. Adams had a special guest reader from first grade this week who earned this privilege with good behavior.  It was an added bonus that her big sister was in the class!

Mrs. Clair's 5th grade homeroom had a very special guest reader from first grade. The 5th grade students enjoyed her rendition of "Knuffle Bunny"!

Pom Pom Celebration

Mrs. Sallee's class celebrated their virtuous behavior with a pajama, pancake and plush day! 

 Introduction to the Virtue of Forgiveness

Father McGreevey introduced the virtue of forgiveness in Chapel this week. Offering forgiveness to others is important for your well-being as well as the well being of others. Great message!

Newton’s Laws

Fifth grade began a unit on force and motion by exploring Newton's Laws as they apply to everyday objects and occurrences.

Read Across America

We had a fabulous time celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday and “Read Across America Day” on Wednesday.  Check out these fun activities our Lower School children enjoyed.

Big Cyclones (7^th graders) and Little Cyclones (1^st graders) enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss books together.

Guest reader, Mr. Monsell, visited first and second grade students!! So fun!! 

We ended the day with an “All in the Hall” reading activity together.  What terrific day!

Chess Champs

The LS chess team won 2nd in the K-3 division and tied for third in the 4-5 division at the SC Chess Association State Championships this past weekend. CONGRATULATIONS CYCLONES AND COACH DEREK!

A Note from Julie and Brannen

We attended the National Association of Independent Schools annual conference in San Francisco last week. The theme of the conference was What’s Your Story?  The Power of Trailblazers, Catalysts, and Calamities.  The late leader of NAIS, John Chubb, recognized the benefits we all reap by learning from one another’s stories, not only in the telling and listening, but also in the fact that these stories can transcend time and place.  

            Throughout the conference we heard many inspiring stories.  We listened to Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, author of Dot Complicated and the children’s book Dot, editor-in-chief of digital lifestyle destination Dot Complicated, and host of “Dot Complicated” on SiriusXM.  While her resume is quite impressive, she told her story in a warm and wonderful way.  She talked about the changing face of the workplace, describing today’s workplace as creative, mobile, and on-demand.  Clearly, this has important implications for how we educate students and the things on which we focus.

A highlight for us was hearing the story and the inspiring words of Bryan Stevenson.  Mr. Stevenson is the founder and executive director of Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy, his memoir that tells the story of a young lawyer fighting on the front lines of a country embroiled in extreme punishments and careless justice.  He told us of his work with people on death row, many of whom who have been tried and incarcerated as children.  He stressed that in order for us to truly make a difference in our world, one must do four things:  get proximate, change the narrative, be hopeful, and do things that are uncomfortable. As educators, we have an important role to play in shaping our future and his words rang true for each and everyone of us.

            We also enjoyed various smaller sessions which offered us ideas that we are excited to explore at Porter-Gaud.  We learned about ways to enhance teacher effectiveness, student learning, and student well-being.  We look forward to moving forward with these ideas as we are constantly looking to enhance all we do.  We are thankful to have had this shared experience.

-Julie and Brannen

Dear Parents, 

March brings a great deal of preparation for the many events that come with the end of the school year, as well as beginning to look ahead to the next.  Friday marks the end of the 3rd quarter.  Teachers will be finalizing report card comments and grades in preparation for our spring Parent-Advisor conferences, which will be held on Wednesday, Aprl 6th. In the next few weeks, you'll hear from your student's advisor to arrange a time for this conference.  Students will review the goals they have set for the year as well as begin to look at course options for following year.  You'll see your student's schedule card as well as have the opporutnity to review the Course Guide for the Middle School. For our 8th grade students and parents, the Upper School Course Guide will be available. Mr. Gilman and Ms. Oswald will meet with our 8th grade students to review the scheduling process and course options for the 9th grade year. Advisors will review this informtion with you as well during the Spring conference.  

We meet with our 5th grade students tomorrow night and begin the process of welcoming them to the their Middle School experience.  It doesn't seem all that long ago we first met our current 6th graders, and we will count on them to serve as mentors to the class of 2023!  

We have several events in the coming weeks - a $2 dress down day to support Porterpalooza on 3/11, our Pi day celebration on 3/14, and the Annual Faculty-Student Basketball Game and Food Drive on 3/15.  Spring Break will be here before we know it!

Big Cyclone - Little Cyclone

In Life 101 this week, our 7th grade students got together with their Little Cyclones to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America.  For a gallery of pictures, visit the Porter-Gaud Facebook page. 

Life 101 Update

On Wednesday, February 24th, Ms. Amy Brennan from the Center 4 Women met with the 8th grade students.  She talked with the students about the gender gap in pay and had the students explore gender stereotypes. Our 6th graders enjoyed a presentation from several Upper School students on finding their passions. Upper School students shared what new talents they discovered while in the Middle School and demonstrated the hard work they have put in to be masters! Our 7th graders met with the Upper School Honor Council. This past week, our students met as advisory groups for some "family bonding" at school.  

Advisory Fun

Mr. O'Donnell warms up his pitching arm with Ellis Chang during advisory.  Ms. Cipriani's advisory made pancakes together with the help of Chef Danny.  

Bicycles for Humanity 

On Saturday, about 30 middle school students, a few brave parents, and several Upper School students gathered to help break down the many bikes that have been donated for shipping to Karamoja, Uganda. We fought rusty nuts and bolts, removed the pedals and front wheels, zip-tied the bikes and loaded them into the shipping container.  We are still working towards our 500 bicycle goal, so please send in any bikes you're no longer using or email Chris Tate at ctate@portergaud.edu.  Even if they are rusty, they can be repurposed!  Porter-Gaud's Bicycles for Humanity project was recently featured in the Spring 2016 issue of Independent School Magazine and will also be featured on the CBS show Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hidden Heroes. We will send out the air date soon! (Picture below from 2013 shipment) 

Get Your Tickets for US Musical FOOTLOOSE!

EVERYBODY CUT FOOTLOOSE! The high-energy dance musical, Footloose! opens March 17-19 in Gwynette Auditorium. Come out and enjoy this inspiring and exciting performance by our Upper School students. PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY!

Porterpalooza 2016: Auction Item of the Day

AUCTION ITEM OF THE DAY: 7 Nights at MaraVilla at Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. 

"Mar a Villa" offers a very spacious, open air environment with approximately 8,000 square feet of living space. The Villa offers five full-sized suites that can accommodate up to 12 guests. Each suite offers bathroom facilities, air conditioning, ceiling fans, and outstanding views of the Gulf. Mar-a-Villa features a very expansive interior common area that includes a large dining and living area, a full-sized kitchen, a top-of-the line sports bar with satellite TV, and an adjoining pool table/entertainment area. This large common area transitions very easily to an equally expansive outdoor living area that features a large infinity pool, a lounging area, a shaded dining area, and a barbeque area. The Villa is exceptionally well decorated, furnished, and designed, including marble floors, unique wall art, floor to ceiling windows facing the Gulf, extra high ceilings, spiral interior staircase, and the like. (Value: $8,000 - $14,000 per week (Saturday - Saturday) depending on number of guests and season. 

PURCHASE YOUR PORTERPALOOZA TICKETS AND CHECK OUT THE OTHER AMAZING AUCTION ITEMS HERE! 

B2B Unveils New Format

B2B is unveiling a new format! We are looking to the future and working to make B2B relevant for multiple generations and industries. All current parents and alumni are invited to join us for a hot breakfast and our first in a series of panel discussions: Technology in the Lowcountry. Panel members include Stan Gray, founder and CEO of Dig South and John Osborne, co-founder and director of The Harbor. RSVP to events@portergaud.edu!

Thursday, March 24th
7:45 am ~ Washington Hall
Porter-Gaud campus

B Week

 Forgiveness Virtue 

Quote of the Day

 "It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend." ~William Blake

Community:  Chapel / Jewish Life

IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS:

3/15- Faculty-Student Basketball Game/ DRESS DOWN DAY!

3/17-3/20- Upper School Musical

Clubs / Events:      

Sophomores interested in attending the Hugh O'Brian Leadership Seminar should see Mrs. Adelson for an application by this Friday, March 11th.  The leadership seminar involves a three day stay at Furman University at the end of May along with other student leaders in the state of South Carolina.  Applications due by next Friday, March 18th. See HOBY.org for more information.

Please congratulate the following Poetry Recitation winners:

9th:  Lillian Holland

10th: Will Hutchisson

11th: Jayson Heyward 

Rising Juniors and Seniors! New Course for Fall 2016:
U.S. Foreign Policy 

*Have you ever wondered how the United States went from being a colony to a superpower?

*Why and how has the United States been deeply involved in every region of the world during the 20^th century? What does that mean for the 21^st?

*If you are interested in taking Foreign Policy next fall, there will be a brief informational meeting at the start of lunch on Wednesday, 9 March in Dr. Westerman’s room.

If you can't make it, email Dr. Westerman or see him individually to inquire about the class. 

Seniors!!  The Disney Trip is ON!!!  
DON'T MISS THIS TRIP !!  

You will never be a senior in high school again!  

Sign up for this year's US Chess competition! The sign-up sheet is posted in the Library. 

Service: 

• Start clearing off your bookshelves this weekend and donate to our annual gently used book sale! 
   
• Register with our Water Missions Walk for Water team for a service hour: (http://events.watermissions.org/site/TR/Events/CharlestonWalkforWater?team_id=3446&pg=team&fr_id=1391). 

 Athletics:

Tuesday, March 8th

· MS Baseball at First Baptist 4pm (early dismissal 2:25pm)

· Girls JV Soccer HOME vs. Beaufort HS 5pm

· Girls Varsity Soccer HOME vs. Beaufort HS 6:30pm

· Lacrosse at Waccamaw 6pm (early dismissal 2:30pm)

· Varsity Baseball at Stall 6pm

Wednesday, March 9th

· Golf HOME vs. West Ashley 3:30pm (early dismissal 2:15pm)

· Track HOME 4:30pm

· Varsity Baseball HOME vs. Colleton Prep 5pm

· Varsity Girls lacrosse @ Wando 5:30pm

Thursday, March 10th

· Tennis HOME vs. Wando 4pm 

· Girls JV Soccer HOME vs. West Ashley 5:30pm

· Girls Varsity Soccer HOME vs. West Ashley 7pm

Friday, March 11th

· Boys JV Soccer at Wilson Hall 4pm (early dismissal 1pm)

· Boys Varsity Soccer at Wilson Hall 5:30pm (early dismissal 1pm)

· Lacrosse at CFA Tournament (early dismissal 11:15am)

· MS Baseball HOME vs. Lowcountry Wildcats 5pm

· Varsity Baseball HOME vs. Lowcountry Wildcats 7pm

 GO CYCLONES!

Event Reminders 

• MARCH 11: Dress down day for $2 supports PORTERPALOOZA
• MARCH 12: Join the PG team for WALK FOR WATER at 10:00 am at Joe Riley Stadium
• MARCH 15: $2 Dress down day supports our EASTER FOOD DRIVE 
• MARCH 17-20: The high-energy dance musical, FOOTLOOSE debuts! CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS! 
• MARCH 19: PORTERPALOOZA at the Cedar Room at the Cigar Factory. Visit www.porterpalooza.com! 
• MARCH 24: B2B is unveiling a new format! All current parents are invited to join us for a hot breakfast and our first in a series of panel discussions: Technology in the Lowcountry with Stan Gray, DIGSOUTH founder and John Osborne, co-founder and director of the Harbor Entreprenuer Center. 
• MARCH 25 - APRIL 2: Spring Break 

Special Event: Darkness to Light Training for Parents on April 4

On April 4 from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the US Library, we will offer sexual abuse prevention training facilitated by Cindy McElhinney from our community partner, Darkness to Light. The program addresses child sexual abuse in the context of today's issues, features a combination of expert advice and practical guidance, and shares a simple, 5-step approach to keeping your children safe.

This prevention program is an important part of PG's long-standing policy and multifaceted strategy to strengthen community efforts to prevent child sexual abuse. RSVP to Jennifer Lorenz at jlorenz@portergaud.edu. Childcare will be available (thanks to our wonderful PG service team), and drinks and light snacks will be provided.

Poetry OutLoud 

At Monday Morning Meeting this week, nine Upper School finalists recited their favorite poems as part of the Poetry OutLoud competition. All nine finalists gave strong performances. The three winners were:

"Two things that make some students really uncomfortable are poetry and public speaking," says Childs Smith, English faculty member and event organizer. "Why not combine the two to maximize their discomfort--and then change it? It would be easy to defer to the notion that "expanding one's comfort zone" is important, but that doesn't quite seem true in all cases; nor, perhaps, is it the point. Confidence is not comfort, I think, and the building of it, like character, may require hardships that never get easy. They stay worth it, though, and stay with you--like a poem you had to memorize in high school."

Upper School Math Team Wins at CofC Meet

Eleven (11) PG students competed in the College of Charleston Math Meet in early March. Both the Varsity and JV teams made it to the second round in the team elimination! Chris Doll won a timed sprint, and the whole team worked on a ciphering problem to win one of the all-day sprints. Porter-Gaud won the only trophy for this event! The Varsity team consisted of Amy Yu, Kimi Xu, Mark Anastos, and Michael Psenka. The JV team consisted of Jacob Skaggs, Annemarie Thompson, Waleed Hardy, and Gelsey James. The other students participating in the timed sprints, all day sprints, and brainstorming sessions were Chris Doll, Cross Tolliver and Alex Millman. CONGRATULATIONS CYCLONES AND COACH FOX!

PG Visiting Writer Series Welcomes Alan R. Shapiro 

The Porter-Gaud Visiting Writer Series will host Pulitzer Prize finalist, Alan R. Shapiro, on March 10-11. Shapiro is the W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he's taught since 1989. As the author of numerous collections of poetry, Shapiro has explored family, loss, domesticity, and the daily aspects of people’s lives in free verse and traditional poetic forms. He has published over ten books of poetry, most recently Reel to Reel (2014), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Night of the Republic (2012), a finalist for the National Book Award and the Griffin Prize; and Old War (2008), winner of the Ambassador Book Award.

Shapiro will present selected works from Reel to Reel during US assembly in Gwynette Auditorium and will then spend the day with Upper School students in open seminars. A reception for Shapiro will be held this evening.

Computer Science Team Takes CarolinaCon

A team of four Computer Science students from Porter-Gaud travelled to Raleigh, NC last weekend to participate in CarolinaCon, a 3-day event focusing on cyber security and technology. Sophomore Tillson Galloway, and seniors Max Harley, Randolph Dew, and Alexander Swanson were the only high school team at the conference aimed toward technology professionals.

CarolinaCon hosts competitions to challenge the teams on various security scenarios. Many of the South’s top tech companies, including some of the biggest names in Charleston, had teams represented, but our team, who named themselves “Dangling Pointers,” beat all of them in the Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, besting their nearest competitor by 800 points. This competition gives each team opportunities to hack into servers over an extended period of time, with each successful hack offering a number of points. Our team also won the Cryptography Challenge, a series of very difficult cyber puzzles. These competitions are designed to hone the skills of technology professionals and update them on the latest technologies. Congratulations to these amazing students on the win! You continue to make us proud.

CarolinaCon began in 2005 by The CarolinaCon Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the local and global communities about technology, information/network/computer security, and information rights. The CarolinaCon Group is also closely associated with 2,600 chapters across NC, SC, TN, VA, LA, DC, GA, PA and NY. 

Porterpalooza: Auction Item of the Day

Have you purchased your Porterpalooza tickets yet? Come enjoy this fun-filled, casual evening of live music, good food, live and silent auctions in the Cedar Room at the Cigar Factory on East Bay Street. Proceeds benefit our PG teacher wish lists and faculty grants. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!

Auction Item of the Day: FOUR (4) VIP PASSES to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York! 

Everybody Cut Footloose!

The PG Performing Arts Department is proud to announce the Upper School musical, FOOTLOOSE! will be running March 17-20 in Gwynette Auditorium. Purchase your tickets HERE!

Sea Turtle Grant Secured with S.C. Aquarium

Our freshman biology students will be participating in a research program at the South Carolina Aquarium on Thursday, March 17th from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Porter-Gaud was awarded this opportunity via a grant to investigate the effects of human impacts on marine ecosystems (emphasis on sea turtles).

The research program is part of a grant the S.C. Aquarium receives to provide free standards-based education programs to South Carolina schools.  Science faculty member Peyton Sasnett applied for the program back in September and was selected. She attended the educator training back in December.  

"I am excited about the opportunity for real-life experiential learning as young biologists," says Peyton Sasnett. "The students started in class today their pre-program enrichment, which includes researching the species of sea turtles we have in SC, studying their life cycle, plotting their migration and navigation routes, and investigating sea turtle standings and human impacts on population."

#PGService Out and About

Upper School students have been busy this week supporting our community and the next week will provide even more opportunities for them to get involved and help others.

On Friday at community period, students can pay $1 to enter a Special Olympics Knockout competition. The top two students from each grade will move to the finals at the Student vs. Faculty basketball game this Tuesday, 3/15.

On Saturday, the Porter-Gaud team will meet up at "The Joe" to Walk for Water and support Water Missions International.

And on Tuesday, March 15th, the service program will host a $2 dress down day to raise money for our 29th annual Easter Food Drive, which supports 25 families in great need on Wadmalaw Island. The games will begin at 12:30PM with the concession stand open serving pizza and drinks to students. The Lowcountry Food Drive truck will be at the entrance of the Wendell Center and we ask that all students donate canned food items as their "entry" into the game.

Lastly, don't forget to clean your bookshelves and come and shop our Gently Used Book Sale on March 17th and March 18th. All books will be sold at $0.50/each and all money raised will be donated to Pet Helpers. Thank you for your support!

Athletics: New Teams, New Beginnings

Last weekend, three of the four new sports unveiled this year were in action simultaneously. Coach Colleen Jones accompanied Caroline McShane to Sumter to get her qualified to compete along with her teammates in the SCISA state Hunt Seat Championships on May 1st.  She wound up collecting a third place ribbon on the flat and a blue ribbon for first place over fences in her division.

About two hours west of there, our new shooting sports team was competing in their own first event, the SCISA state sporting clays championships in Edgefield, SC.  They brought home a trophy as the runner-up among new school teams. And back at home, our new girls' lacrosse team had their first-ever home game, hosting Pinewood Prep.  The Cyclones scored in the last minute to secure a 7-6 win that thrilled a crowd of students who came out to witness history in the making.  Our fourth new team, bowling, has already concluded their inaugural season--the boys placed fifth and the girls third in SCISA back in January. 

Student Spotlight: Amanda Billings '16 wins NCA All-Star Nationals

Amanda Billings and her American Cheer X-Treme (ACX) Senior Level 4 team won the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) All-Star Nationals in Dallas, TX and received a bid to the ESPN World Summit Cheer Competition in May. This win represents her third year of winning NCA in addition to 15 national titles, 5 grand champion titles, and third place in the ESPN World Summit Competition in 2014. Congratulations Amanda!

Team Spotlight: Sailing  

The sailing team competed in late February in a regatta with 19 schools from GA, NC and SC. The weather was very cooperative with a mix of sun and clouds and winds between 10 - 15 mph. After five hours of racing and six races in each division, the team placed fifth overall! Our B division team placed second. 

Congratulations to Peter Buyck, William Chapman, Robert Turner, Joey Chomyn and Coach Kael Martin!

Upcoming Days in Rotation

Monday, March 14^th – Day 7

Tuesday, March 15^th – Day 1

Wednesday, March 16^th – Day 2

Thursday, March 17^th – Day 3

Friday, March 18^th – Day 4

Reminders

• Tuesday, March 15^th –$2 school wide dress down day to raise money for our 29th annual Easter Food Drive.  We also ask that everyone brings in canned food items for the Lowcountry Food Bank. The canned food item will be a student’s “ticket” to the faculty-student basketball game (student event in the Wendell Center).
• Thursday, March 17^th and Friday, March 18^th – Gently Used Book Sale in the Wendell Center – All books will be for sale at $0.50 each, and all money raised will go to Pet Helpers. We will accept book donations through Wednesday of next week. Students will be visiting the book sale with their homerooms on Thursday or Friday.  They will have their scheduled day recorded in their planners.
• Thursday, March 17th - All students can wear green in honor of St. Patricks Day.  Students do not need to be in uniform but we encourage them to wear some green item.
• On Monday, April 4 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the Upper School Library, we will offer sexual abuse prevention training facilitated by Cindy McElhinney from our community partner, Darkness to Light. The program features a combination of expert advice and practical guidance, and shares a simple, 5-step approach to keeping your children safe. RSVP to Jennifer Lorenz at jlorenz@portergaud.edu. Child care is available, and drinks and light snacks will be provided.
• Tuesday, April 5^th – We will host a Lower School Parent Coffee in the cafeteria from 8:00 to 9:00am. 
• We will host a third grade parent meeting on Thursday, April 7^th at 6:30pm.  We will be discussing the transition between third grade and fourth grade.
• Thursday, April 28^th - Family Math, Science and Technology Fair from 6:00-7:30 pm.  1st-5th grade families are invited to pre-register for this evening of fun-filled activities!  Families participate in 3 different explorations together. Additional information will be sent out the first week in April.  Pre-registration will be required.
• Friday, May 6^th - Girls Gathering for 1st-5th grade girls from 3:00-5:00 pm.  Lower School  girls are invited to join teachers to explore leadership.   Through teamwork activities and service projects, the girls will spend the afternoon building valuable skills and bonding.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Great fun was had by all during our Lower School movie event – The Wizard of Oz.  As part of our Virtues Project we showed this classic film to highlight important virtues like friendliness and perseverance.    

Virtues Rainbow

After watching The Wizard of Oz, Lower School students discussed how they show virtuous behaviors. Students wrote examples of friendliness, respect, and perseverance. 

A Gullah Storyteller

Gullah storyteller Gervonder Brown, a.k.a. "Island Gal," shared the beauty of Gullah culture with third graders from stories to songs, dances, sweetgrass baskets, and more during an interactive presentation.

Fun in Mrs. Lambroff’s class

 Pizza box book reports

Dojo Monster Contest

Working with burger fractions in math

Guest Reader

Thank you to Mrs. Lewis for being a fun guest reader in Mrs. Sallee's class! 

Honors Choir

Our Lower School Honors Choir members, Jared Wilder, Reese Wisner, Harper Rehmann, Renny Miles, and Anna Lehman are in Chattanooga this week performing with the American Choral Directors Honors Choir. They also enjoyed a little time off at the Tennessee Aquarium last night.  We can’t wait to hear about their performances and their adventures when they return!

If I Were a Butterfly

Our second graders participated in a city wide “kids coloring contest” organized by the Dee Norton Lowcounrty Chilren's Center.  They were asked to use their imaginations and draw what it would be like to be a butterfly.  Our very own Annika Baran came in 3^rd place in the contest.  Way to go Annika!!