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WELCOME TO THE SPOTLIGHT Welcome to the The City School Spotlight. The Spotlight is your monthly guide to what’s going on across our school. 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.
LIGHT TO THE CITY The City School’s mission is to train students’ minds, disciple their hearts, and bring light to the city—one child at a time.
Above: Students and teachers from Fairmount bring joy to residents at a local nursing home.
Last month students at Fairmount had a unique opportunity to fulfill our mission of being light to the city. We walked to Fairmount Long Term Care, a local nursing
home, to share our joy with our elders through song and dance. Residents greeted us with smiles and hugs and cheered enthusiastically as our students (Continued on next page)
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performed for them. Afterwards we shared juice and cookies with our new friends. When we returned to our campus, we talked about our calling to share God’s love and light with our neighbors. We live in a city that is both beautiful and broken.
City School students learn to draw out and magnify the beauty already among us and to bring healing and grace to brokenness they encounter. We love our city and want to see it flourish, and we believe our students can accomplish that with the light of Jesus they shine everywhere they go.
About the Cover: Advent Wreath by Cherisse Richardson, Grade 12. Zentangles are an art process used to explore repetition and pattern. Our high school students use this technique to create initial monograms. Cherisse, one of our seniors, also applied this technique to create an advent wreath. Cherisse says, “Patterns are relaxing for me. They’re a way of finding harmony through art. I hope my design brings some peace to people during the Christmas season—a time when we’re all thinking about peace on earth.”
THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate the birth of our Savior at our holiday performances—the choir’s performance at The Bourse and the wholeschool Christmas Concert at Tenth Presbyterian Church. It’s such a joy to worship together through the gift of music. Thank you also to everyone who faithfully contributed to our Christmas offering. As you know, our teachers are passionate, talented, and devoted to your children. Your generosity allowed us to give faculty and staff a special Christmas bonus to bring a little extra joy to them and their families.
CHILDREN’S SCHOLARSHIP FUND K to 8 Scholarship Opportunity Children’s Scholarship Fund is accepting applications for the 2016-17 school year. Apply online at csfphiladelphia.org or call 215.670.8411 for more information. The deadline is March 1, 2016. Every year we award over $1 million in need-based scholarships to our families. Outside scholarships from partners like Children’s Scholarship Fund help make this possible. By applying for this scholarship, you can help us make our excellent education accessible to more families in the city.
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 300 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 1 860 N. 24th Street Philadelphia, PA 19130 215.769.5366
FAIRMOUNT Winter Assessments - January 4-14 Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest, has a nutritious breakfast, and understands that while tests are important markers of academic progress, they are not the final indicator of their intelligence or worth.
AFTER SCHOOL EXTRACURRICULARS WINTER BLOCK Begin on February 1 and run through March 18. Classes are open to non City School families, so invite friends!
HALF DAY - January 15 MLK Jr. Day SCHOOL CLOSED January 18
MONDAYS - 3:30 to 4:30 Soccer Shots with Coach Josh Whitman
Open House - January 20
TUESDAYS - 3:45 to 4:45 Praise Dance with Mrs. FitzPatrick
Please help us spread the word about The City School by inviting friends or family members who are looking for an excellent educational option.
WEDNESDAYS - 3:45 to 4:45 Contemporary Dance with Mrs. Rodriguez
Report Cards and Assessment Data Distributed - January 29 Last Day for 2nd Period Reenrollment Discount - January 29 After January 29 the re-enrollment fee increases from $200 to $220. Also after January 29 new student placement begins.
THURSDAYS - 3:45 to 4:45 Drama Club with Mrs. Guy FRIDAYS - 3:30 to 4:30 Child Evangelism Bible Club with Ms. Lorraine Davis Cost: $10 per class/per week (due in full prior to first day of class)
THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARENTS WHO ATTENDED OUR PARENT FORUM. WE CONSIDER OUR SCHOOL A FAMILY OF FAMILIES—THIS MEANS YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION IS VITAL TO THEIR SUCCESS, AND IT’S A JOY FOR US TO PARTNER WITH YOU. WE APPRECIATE YOUR INSIGHT AND PERSPECTIVES, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE IDEAS ON HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOVE, SERVE, AND EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN.
S PRU CE HILL GRADES K TO 5 4115 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104 215.382.7839
SPRUCE HILL End of 2nd Quarter - January 14 HALF DAY - January 15 MLK Jr. Day SCHOOL CLOSED January 18 Open House - January 21 | 9:30 AM Please help us spread the word about The City School by inviting friends or family members who are looking for an excellent educational option.
2nd Quarter Report Cards Distributed - January 29 Last Day for 2nd Period Re-enrollment Discount - January 29 After January 29 the re-enrollment fee increases from $200 to $220. Also after January 29 new student placement begins.
A WARM WELCOME Mr. Andrew Kalvelage is joining the Spruce Hill team as our new Physical Education teacher. Mr. Kalvelage is the pastor of the Community Covenant Church that meets at our school each Sunday. His wife and three children have been partners with our school for three years.
ON DECEMBER 15 OUR SPRUCE HILL VOCAL ENSEMBLE, ALONG WITH A FEW STUDENTS FROM WALNUT STREET AND RITTENHOUSE BLESSED THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA BY SINGING CHRISTMAS CAROLS AT THE BOURSE.
WA LN U T STR E E T GRADES 6 TO 8 4501 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19139 215.382.7839
WALNUT STREET
A WARM WELCOME
Cheerleading Practice - Every Wednesday | 3:30 to 4:30 PM
Mr. David Sanchez (pictured below on the right at our Spring Arts Festival) is joining the Walnut Street team as our new Physical Education teacher. Mr. Sanchez is the husband of our Fairmount Principal. David and Melissa have three children at The City School.
Open House - January 13 | 9:30 AM Please help us spread the word about The City School by inviting friends or family members who are looking for an excellent educational option.
American Jewish History Museum Field Trip - January 14 End of 2nd Quarter - January 14 HALF DAY - January 15 MLK Jr. Day SCHOOL CLOSED January 18 2nd Quarter Report Cards Mailed January 29 Last Day for 2nd Period Reenrollment Discount - January 29 After January 29 the re-enrollment fee increases from $200 to $220. Also after January 29 new student placement begins.
THE UNDEFEATED LION SOCCER TEAM (GRADES 5 TO 8) POSES WITH THEIR LEAGUE CHAMPION TROPHIES. GO LIONS!
RI T T E N H OU SE GRADES 9 TO 12 315 S. 17th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 215.731.1930
RITTENHOUSE Uniform Outerwear Reminder City School sweaters and sweatshirts are available from Flynn O’Hara for the cold weather. Students are only permitted to wear uniform outerwear in class.
Open House - January 12 | 5:15 PM Please help us spread the word about The City School by inviting friends or family members who are looking for an excellent educational option.
2nd Marking Period Report Cards issued - January 13 MLK Jr. Day SCHOOL CLOSED January 18 Last Day for 2nd Period Re-enrollment Discount - January 29 After January 29 the re-enrollment fee increases from $200 to $220. Also after January 29 new student placement begins.
CONTACT INFORMATION Please contact the office if your contact information has changed recently. It is vital that the school be able to reach parents and emergency contacts!
RITTENHOUSE HOSTED A COLLEGE REP DAY WHERE SENIORS COULD WEAR T-SHIRTS OR SWEATSHIRTS PROMOTING THE COLLEGE THEY HOPE TO ATTEND. OUR TEACHERS ALSO JOINED IN THE FUN, REPRESENTING THEIR ALMA MATERS.
COLD WEATHER CLOSINGS
COLD WEATHER CLOSINGS When weather is inclement, we will contact you by phone and email using our OneCallNow parent broadcast system with information about school closings, early dismissals, and late openings. OTHER WAYS TO STAY UPDATED: 1) Search on KYW by campus number: Fairmount campus school number is 440 Spruce Hill campus school number is 1087 Walnut Street campus school number is 1424 Rittenhouse campus school number is 194 2) Tune to KYW news radio 1060 3) Call our school answering machine at 215.382.7839 or visit our website: www.cityschool.org For suburban school bus service: Please check with your school district for delays in transportation or school closings. If your school district has a delay in opening or has closed, The City School’s bus transportation will be affected. All parents were given the telephone numbers and school closing numbers for their school districts.
WINTER UNIFORMS Make sure that your child has appropriate uniform clothing to stay warm during the winter months—long-sleeve shirts, a uniform sweater or uniform hoodie, and uniform pants or warm tights for girls.
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