April 2017 Spotlight

“...BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS...”

-JOSHUA 1:9

A P R I L 2 01 7

Welcome to The Spotlight Welcome to the Spotlight! We hope the Spotlight will be a resource for your family. In it you will get a glimpse into some of the beautiful things that are happening across our four campuses. You will find important dates and reminders and, more than that, we hope you’ll gain a clearer vision of The City School as a pre-K through twelve family. Whatever grade your student is in, they are part of a larger community of learners, and we want to share life together as one school.

Learning together Last month teachers and staff gathered together for an in-service day.

For students, this is just a day off. For the people God has called to this beautiful mission, it’s a day of fellowship, reflection, and rejoicing in God’s work through our community. It is also an important time to plan and strategize for the coming year.

Our in-service days always open with breakfast, prayers, and an update from our Head of School, Mr. Becker. We catch up with friends from other campuses and gain a clearer vision for how God is moving through the whole school. Mr. Becker shared a vision

for growth. God has put it in our hearts to serve more students in the city, and we are pursuing ways to do that. Serving more students not only opens our doors to new families, it allows us to serve our current families in deeper ways—offering more (Continued on next page)

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electives and extra-curriculars as our student body grows.

Afterwards we broke into cohorts by grade level and department.

We took time to plan for next year, refine office manager duties, develop better systems to track student success, and study the essential skills of Love & Logic.

These planning and training sessions help each of us do our jobs better—they help us bring more light to your students.

We closed the day by analyzing data from a survey we took at our last in-service. Sounds boring, huh? But it was actually a fun and insightful exercise. Here’s a recap of what we discovered.

While we recognize we can continue to grow and nurture these areas, we are pretty happy with our curriculum and school

culture. However, most of us are dissatisfied with the limitations of our current facilities. We have some plans in place to begin investing more in these areas— beautifying and expanding our elementary playgrounds, moving toward a consolidated upperschool campus, and more. In each area we surveyed, we found that we set very high standards for ourselves—so even where we score well, we are eager to improve.

God is faithful to The City School family. Our in-services days are a special time to honor his work in our community as we re-focus our own efforts in his ministry. While your students are celebrating a day off, we are rejoicing in the work God has laid before us.

On the Cover: Spaceship, mixed media sculpture by Fikir, Grade 2

Volunteers Needed.

Interested in giving back to The City School community? There are many different ways to serve. Contact Betty Handy, Home and School President, at homeandschool@cityschool.org. You can also sign up for campus specific opportunities at http://signup.com/go/x8QzPr.

Join our Prayer Line Join the City School prayer line on Thursdays from 5:30-5:45 am and 5:30-5:45 pm. Mr. Becker will host the call and lead prayer as we seek the face of the Lord together. Submit your requests to prayer@cityschool.org. Dial-in: 515-739-1293; access code: 227189.

Like us on Facebook at: facebook.com/thecityschool BUSINESS OFFICE 860 N. 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130 | 215.769.5363 The City School is a pre-K through 12th grade Christian school serving over 340 students on four campuses across Philadelphia. Our mission is to train students’ minds, disciple their hearts, and bring light to the city—one child at a time.

Fa i r m o unt Grades Pre-K to 2 860 N. 24th Street Philadelphia, PA 19130 215.769.5366

Fairmount Field Trip to Schuylkill Center (Kindergarten) - April 5 Half Day - No Aftercare - April 6 Parent/Teacher Conferences – April 6, 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm | April 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Scheduling forms were sent home.

Please return to the school office.

School Closed - April 7 Spring Break - April 10 to April 17 School Resumes - April 18 STEAM Festival - April 20 We are partnering with our Rittenhouse campus high school students who will be running STEAM stations for the Fairmount students.

Science Storytime at Smith Playground (Pre-K) - April 26

Spring Showcase Save the date for the Fairmount Spring Showcase on Friday, May 12. There will be two performances, one at 3:00 pm and one at 7:00 pm. More information will be sent home.

Fairmount celebrated Dr. Seuss Day by Wearing Seussthemed Pajamas to school, participating in Seuss-themed reading activities, and deciding whether or not they liked Green eggs and Ham.

S pru ce Hill Grades k to 5 4115 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104 215.382.7839

Spruce Hill

pSSA TEsting

School Chapel – Fridays | 8:30 am

PSSA Testing begins on Monday, April 3 and extends through Friday, May 12 for Grades 3–5.

Parents are welcome to join us for our campus worship time.

English Language Arts: April 3-7

Tune Up Philly Clarinets – Tuesdays & Wednesdays | 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Math: April 24-28

Field Trips to Schuylkill Center (Kindergarten) & NJ Aquarium (Grade 1) - April 5

Make-ups (if needed): May 8-12

Half Day - No Aftercare - April 6

Science: May 1-5 (Grades 4 & 8 only)

Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before and eats a good breakfast!

Parent/Teacher Conferences – April 6, 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm | April 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Scheduling forms were sent home. Please return to the school office.

School Closed - April 7 Spring Break - April 10 to April 17 School Resumes - April 18 Field Trip to Crystal Cave (Grade 3) - April 26 Field Trip to Independence National Historic Park Science Festival (Grade 4) - April 26

Thanks to all who attended our Academic Night, “A Night of Literature,” featuring Dr. Seuss! Parents presented skits from Dr. Seuss and students enjoyed making crafts and listening to Dr. Seuss Stories.

Everyone had a wonderful time in Seussville.

Wa ln u t Str e e t Grades 6 to 8 4501 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19139 215.382.7839

Walnut Street Parent/Teacher Conferences (Held at Spruce Hill) – April 5, 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm | April 6, 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm Scheduling forms were sent home.

Please return to the school office.

Half Day - April 6 School Closed - April 7 Spring Break - April 10 to April 17 School Resumes - April 18

pSSA TEsting PSSA Testing begins on Monday, April 3 and extends through Friday, May 12 for Grades 6-8.

English Language Arts: April 3-6 Math: April 24-28 Science: May 1-5 (Grades 4 & 8 only) Make-ups (if needed): May 8-12

Walnut Street enjoyed a field trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa. Students Learned about geometry by studying and measuring different elements of the Gardens’ design.

Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before and eats a good breakfast!

R i t t e n h ou se Grades 9 to 12 315 S. 17th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 215.731.1930

Rittenhouse MP4 Interims and Justice Day April 7

for summer opportunities should speak to Mrs. Condé-Rodriguez or look through the folder of summer opportunity listings in the guidance office.

Spring Break - April 10 to April 17 School Resumes - April 18 STEAM Festival - April 20 High school students will be running STEAM stations for students at the Fairmount campus.

Admissions NEws: Our last Open House for the year is April 25 at 5:00 pm. Please tell friends and family who are looking for a quality Christian education to check out The City School!

Summer Programs and Internships: There are many options available for high school students to gain exposure to career fields, engage in enrichment learning, and participate in community service or missions work. Students should begin looking for those opportunities now to make the most of their summer. Students who would like guidance in looking

Rittenhouse students pulled together to raise over $1,000 for leukemia research. As part of the fundraising drive, they recruited teachers to accept dares—to shave their head, to shave their beard, to wear a wig all day—they would complete if students suceeded.