ADDITIONAL NOTES…

New Head of School…for a day!—On Monday, June 2, Shelley Jackson will retire for the day (well, sort of!). Fifth grader Jonathan Friedman will take over as Head-For-The-Day, thanks to his mother’s Spring Fling Auction purchase. At his request, everyone will enjoy free dress and an expanded “Breakfast-For-Lunch” menu. We look forward to his leadership throughout the day!

Yearbooks Are Coming!—Mr. Bensen has worked hard to create another wonderful yearbook for all of us at Bement and we appreciate his creativity, dedication, and hard work! PARENTS, PLEASE NOTE: Lower school students sign only their names in other children’s yearbooks. Teachers will be reminding their students about our policy before yearbooks arrive next week, and we ask always that parents reinforce this at home. Thank you, parents, for your help with this! You’ll enjoy the yearbook!

A Grandparents’ Day Thank You from Development Director Claudia Pazmany—Dear Families of Bement, You should feel so proud of your children. I only heard wonderful, positive feedback about the welcome they gave to their grandparents. It’s truly their day to lead and they obviously enjoy it, so I want to thank you all for helping to make it such a special day for your parents and children .I would especially like to thank the parents who came to help make buttons, without whose assistance we would not have made it through the day: Rachel Meier, Kerry Bernier, Meg Clark, Valerie Haggerty, Heather Leeds, Joan Roberts, and a student, Whitney Roberts’10; they worked diligently at cutting and creating those magical buttons. Lastly, a very special thank you goes out to Gordon and Barbara Woodward, grandparents of Hannah’10, Taylor’05, and Megan’03 Williams, for providing wonderful chocolate confections from their Candy Kitchen. They seem to find multiple, meaningful ways of showing their support of Bement. A world of thanks!

Boarding Campaign at Bement—As mentioned in a recent invitation to Bement families, the Board of Trustees at Bement has wonderful news to share about the kick-off of its Boarding Campaign. Shelley hopes you will come to hear more about this exciting project and the impact it has on all of us “living and learning at Bement.” We have already heard from a number of families, so please join us and come to the Jackson’s for dessert & coffee to find out more on: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m., or Monday, June 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. RSVP to Peg Verdery at (413) 773-5967 or pverdery@bement.org.

The 2nd Annual Bement Festival of Children's Authors and Illustrators—The Festival committee will have its first meeting on Monday, June 2 at 2:30pm in the library. Anyone interested in joining the committee is welcome and encouraged to attend. RSVP to VHaggerty@aol.com. Thanks and see you there!

Formal Monday Dress—All students wear Formal Monday Dress for Baccalaureate and Commencement. Here’s a reminder about what is expected for Formal Monday Dress:
Boys:-White shirt and tie (NO turtlenecks), -Khaki slacks (NO shorts)

Girls:-White collared shirt, -Khaki skirt (NO shorts) (Skorts are ok if they are skirt length—NOT short, short length)
Both:
-Navy blazer with Bement patch (NO sweater)
-Dress shoes, (No sneakers) leather or other dress shoes—including leather sandals. (NO rubber flip flops)

Important Reminder—Baccalaureate and Commencement are required school events. As we rehearse for them, we need to know who will not be attending. Please notify Mrs. Pennock ASAP if your child will not be present at either of these ceremonies.

Dismissal Reminder—Bement students will go home at 3:30 for the remainder of the school year (June 2, 3, and 4).

Teacher Appreciation Volunteer Call—On Monday, June 9, from 12:30-1:30 pm in the Barn, the Parents’ Association will host its annual luncheon to celebrate Bement’s extraordinary faculty and staff. If you are available to volunteer and haven’t contacted us yet, please complete and return the sign-up form that was in last week’s Look Ahead to Mrs. Pennock (or Mrs. Verdery) by Friday, May 30, or call or email Hut Beall at 413-549-0045 or hutbeall@gmail.com. All of the wonderful people being celebrated at the luncheon will receive a gift, and you are all invited to contribute at least one thank you note to accompany the gifts. Use the postcard provided last week or create your own—and submit it as well to Mrs. Pennock as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact Hut Beall at the email or telephone above.

Health Form Notice—Health Form packets were sent to all Bement families last week. PLEASE NOTE THE AUGUST 15, 2007 DEADLINE FOR THE RETURN OF COMPLETED HEALTH FORMS AND GENERAL PERMISSION CARDS TO THE BEMENT SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICE. A $75 PENALTY FEE WILL BE CHARGED AFTER THAT DATE. ACCORDING TO BEMENT SCHOOL POLICY, NO STUDENT WILL BE ALLOWED ON CAMPUS FOR THE OPENING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR UNTIL THE REQUIRED FORMS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED IN THE BUSINESS OFFICE.

Bement Earthquake Relief Effort—On Monday, May 12, at 2:28 pm, a major earthquake, magnitude 7.8, jolted southwestern China's Sichuan Province. Several lower-scale earthquakes and aftershocks followed in the same area. The quake destroyed many schools in the area, including one that had at least 900 students in it. It is estimated that more than 12,000 people have died; 18,000 people have been injured; and hundreds of thousands people are missing. According to the latest reports, around 6 million people have lost their homes. In the wake of this tragedy, people all over the world have been rallying in support of China’s victims, and Bement has begun to mobilize a relief operation as well. A donation box has been set up in the Kittredge Building Meeting Room. Any amount that you can donate would be very much appreciated. The last day for donations will be Tuesday, June 3. In order to keep track of donations, we ask that you please sign your name on the Bement t-shirt by the donation box and add a leaf to the Tree of Hope & Love. Thanks for your help! Please see Mrs. Hong in the library or email her at xhong@bement.org with any questions.

Register Now for Bement Summer Camp!—Summer is right around the corner! Bement’s Summer Camp Session 1 begins June 23. Register now and join the fun! The registration form is available on our website at www.bement.org/summer.

Please be on the alert for a Build-A-Bear bag!—Lily Ruderman in Mrs. Mullens’ fourth grade class is missing some art work. She left some homemade paper projects she’d made at Bement summer camp near her cubby in Drake last week. The Build-A-Bear bag may have looked like trash, but it wasn’t; a book of homemade paper samples and a bowl made of paper were carefully wrapped at the bottom. Please return to Lily or Mrs. Mullens. Reward! They have great sentimental value. Thanks.

Found—A pair of earrings on Main Street in front of Bement. Please come to the Business Office to claim them.

Looking Ahead…

Monday, June 9 Teacher Appreciation Luncheon in the Barn—12:30-1:30 pm
 

The Look Ahead is published weekly in the Lower School.  Please send any news for it to Ms. Kapteyn or Mrs. Pennock.