Land, Ho!:  2005-06 Annual Funds update As we kick off our 2005-06 Annual Funds campaign, “Land, Ho!” we are thrilled to report an exciting response from our campaign leaders. As of November 1st, initial donations from donors approached $40,000 and included pledges and gifts from: 138 Faculty/Staff, $18,500 (average of $5/paycheck, or $130/year) 20 Board of Trustees, $14,000 (average of $50/month, or $600/year) 24 Family/Friends, $7,200+ Central to our campaign to fund a plethora of educational enhancements not covered by tuition is our “Land, Ho!” brochure that summarizes how our Raider ventures are funded, how we raise funds, and how we divide the loot, i.e. where the money goes, who it goes to, and the many wonderful things we have been able to buy and do for our students, faculty and staff, clubs, teams through SCPS Annual Funds. The brochure also includes our bold vision, exciting plans and a clear challenge to all SCPS family and friends to support SCPS with a charitable gift of at least $10 per month ($120/year). Look for your brochure in the mail, or click here to view more information online.

Printable Honor Roll Lists: 1st Quarter 2005-06 Lower School Middle School Upper School

• Lower School (3rd -12th grades)
    Monday, Nov. 7th, 5:30 pm
    Chatham Parkway Cafeteria
• Middle/Upper School
    Tuesday, Nov. 8th, 5:30 pm
    Chatham Parkway Cafeteria
• Callbacks
    Thursday, Nov. 10th, 5:30 pm
    Chatham Parkway Cafeteria
   

The new quarterly magazine and companion monthly E-Raider, published online, replace the old Raider newsletter. The combination of the two formats allows us to offer more in-depth articles and color photos, as well as highlight news and provide timely access to numerous online resources. In conjunction with the web site, which is updated almost daily, this combination provides a highly effective, interactive communications platform.

We mailed The Raider magazine to almost 5,700 households that include current SCPS parents and students, alumni, grandparents and friends of SCPS. Our monthly E-Raider e-mail notifications are currently sent to more than 2,000 people. To update your address or subscribe, visit the left side of our homepage at savcps.com and click on "Update" or "E-Raider".
 

Auction renamed "Gala"

By Wendi Patrick, Director of Marketing and Public Relations and Gala Chair Published in The Raider, Fall 2005 Towering live oak trees fill lush green squares dimly lit from the flicker of a flame-tipped lamppost and the twinkle of light from the stars above. The smell of confederate jasmine and magnolia trees fill the air that gently moves with a stirring breeze. Exquisite architecture rooted in historical splendor and surrounded by steadfast cobblestones collectively sets the scene for our beautiful city and the backdrop for Savannah Christian’s 3rd annual Gala, providing an unforgettable “Evening in Southern Elegance”. With the inaugural auction just two years ago, this fabulous event has quickly become a part of Savannah’s amazing tradition in hosting elegant events to remember. Expecting a “sell-out” in just a few weeks, we are honored to have one of the “hottest tickets” in town! With each event “the bar is raised” and this year’s committee expects no less. One of our first tasks was to ensure the name of the event mirrored all that the evening has grown to encompass. Boasting far more than just an auction, the Gala was born. Numerous parents from all campus and grade levels will share the task of creating a spectacular event. More than fifty men and women have answered the call to volunteer in leadership roles, solicitations, set-up and everything else in between. Their dedication to our school and commitment to volunteerism is evident in the time they spend planning, organizing, and executing the plans to produce an event of this magnitude. Holly Lick, mother of two lower school students, has graciously stepped forward to co-chair the Gala. With her help as well as others, we began our work by empowering the volunteers to gather the best items and advertising for our Live and Silent Auctions as well as the popular Big Board items. One of the most exciting features for this year’s event will be our location! We are pleased to announce that the Gala will be held at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. This luxury hotel in the heart of the historic district has undergone a multi-million dollar restoration and enhancements. Their service paired with their prime location will make for an exceptional event and weekend for those attendees who want to make it a weekend affair. The hotel is offering rooms at a discounted rate, which would be a perfect time to experience the new Hyatt up close! With an equipped team of dedicated volunteers the 3rd annual SCPS Gala will be the place to be on Saturday, January 28th. Sponsorship opportunities are still available and tables will be sold beginning in November. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or buying a table, please contact Wendi Patrick at 234-1653 ext. 107.

The Gala committee working hard to secure the over 300 items for the Silent and Live Auction as well as the Big Board! We are also working very hard to begin gathering items for our new on-line auction through E-bay!

If you have items that you think would be perfect for E-bay, we will collect them and two scheduled drive-thru drop-off collection sites. On Friday, November 18th, we will have volunteers in the morning car pool lines and the afternoon lines collecting items for both silent auction and the E-bay on-line auction! Our second scheduled date will be Friday, December 9th! What better way to help the school, clean out your closets and have a little something to do while you wait in those lines!

We are all looking forward to a great evening in January! Don’t miss it!
 

Clothes Collection for Hurricane Katrina victims
WINTER IS COMING TO PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI AND THEY NEED WINTER CLOTHES! SCPS is partnering with Christ Church of Savannah, Georgia and Trinity Church of Pass Christian, Mississippi, to provide winter clothing to children and adults in the Pass Christian community Please bring any (clean) winter clothes to the drop-off boxes located at each school (Lower, Middle and High School). They need EVERYTHING for children or adults; new or “gently” used is fine. All items will be delivered to Trinity Church by members of Christ Church, Savannah. Even though their building was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the congregation of Trinity Church has been meeting regularly and ministering to all members of the Pass Christian community. Deadline for drop off at SCPS is Wednesday, November 9th. Thank you for your love and support of those in need at this difficult time in their lives.
 

Lightening the Load:  Textbook CD's

For the first time this year, students have the option of renting companion CD’s for several different courses. The CD’s: Eliminate the discomfort of carrying home heavy bookbags   Enhance auditory and visual learning by allowing students to read and listen to material Expand learning resources to include interactive practice tests, games, videos, and direct links to Internet resources   Extend the lives of textbooks by allowing them to remain at school

One year ago, Savannah Christian Preparatory School was deeply engaged in a comprehensive study to develop a long-range plan for the future of our school. The planning committee targeted the development of a comprehensive curriculum as a major priority, and the Middle School quickly responded by organizing a Curriculum Development Team (CDT) under the leadership of Wendy Lewis to address this important issue.

The CDT began a fact-finding mission to assess our current curriculum status. The faculty provided the team with some initial data: an outline of major concepts covered in their courses and an evaluation of the quality of their textbooks, teachers’ editions, and supplemental teaching resources. The team then hosted meetings with several Lower School and Upper School faculty members to discover ways to “bridge the gap” and ensure that our curriculum effectively builds upon the Lower School’s curriculum and sufficiently prepare students for the challenges of Upper School. Team discussions ultimately led to the reformulation of several courses, the addition of new exploratory courses, and the purchase of new textbooks in several classes.

One year later, we are extremely pleased about the decisive actions already taken to strengthen our curriculum. Specifically, the Middle School has restructured its English and LAS courses at the eighth grade level to strengthen students’ grammar and writing skills. American History has now been extended to a two-year course, providing time for students to study twentieth-century history as opposed to primarily early American history through the Civil War. Latin America and Geography exploratories have been added to the curriculum, addressing a weakness perceived by Upper School teachers.

Additionally, the Middle School invested heavily in new textbooks for six courses this year and has a six year plan in place for the replacement of additional textbooks. Our eighth graders have new Literature, Writing, Physical Science, and American History textbooks. Our seventh graders have new Writing and American History textbooks. As a valuable resource, we have made companion student textbooks on CD available to students in four of these courses in this year.

The final and ongoing task of the Curriculum Development Project is to complete in-depth course descriptions of every Middle School course which will be reviewed and updated annually. This annual discipline will ensure that our efforts remain purposeful and directed toward the specific goals set by the long-range planning committee. We are confident that our Middle School students will receive an outstanding education as a direct result of these efforts.

Team members atop San Francisco's Twin Peaks (L-R):  Rich Mazzolini, Blayne Mobley, Robert Daniel, and James Tobermann

WebTech Team Wins 3rd in World Competition
By Linda Fidler

Four SCPS students recently received an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco for winning 3rd Place in the 2004-05 ThinkQuest competition in the 15 and under category.

Sponsored for the past eleven years by Oracle, the world’s largest enterprise software company, the annual competitions engage teams of three to six students and up to two adult coaches in developing educational web sites. Teams have up to six months to complete their sites.

Team coaches (L-R):  Linda Fidler and Bonnie Furnanz

According to Jim Ballard, vice president of Oracle Foundation programs, winning sites (www.thinkquest.org/winners) are published in the ThinkQuest Library online where “the ThinkQuest teams’ contributions impact the lives of students around the world.”

Last year’s competition received 397 entries from team members in eighteen countries. An international panel selected twelve winning entries in three age divisions. The winners, along with their coaches and a parent chaperone, were invited to San Francisco to attend and receive their award at ThinkQuest Live 2005, part of the Oracle Open World Convention attended by over 11,000 people.

Our team enjoyed six days and five nights of workshops, dinners, sightseeing activities, prizes and awards, including a free Dell Axim PDA.

Because of this award, the name “Savannah Christian” is literally on the lips of people around the world. For more information about our WebTech program and awards, visit “WebTech”.

Continuing the Quest for Excellence
Four web sites produced by last year’s Savannah Christian Middle School WebTech class were named winners in the 2005 International Student Media Festival, sponsored by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology [AECT]. The AECT is a professional association of thousands of educators and others who seek to improve instruction through technology. Now in its 31st year, the International Student Media Festival is an annual competition and festival designed to encourage teachers to include media production in their curricula, and to recognize excellence in student media production.

Savannah Christian Middle School students researched and designed four web sites that competed first at the district level, advanced to the state level, and then were selected to compete internationally. The competition consisted of students from kindergarten through college who worked individually or in groups to create an instructional project for a designated audience that incorporated one or more media. A panel of 30 judges consisting of professionals in media-related fields reviewed the entries, evaluating them according to the student’s educational level and judging them for content, impact and production quality.

Several Savannah Christian WebTech students and their teachers traveled to Orlando, Florida, on October 19th-21st to participate in the AECT 2005 International Convention and to receive awards for their winning web sites. All four teams received the Award of Excellence in Media Production. Nature’s Wrath and Decades of Discovery each received Judge's Favorite Awards, and Georgia’s Barrier Islands was awarded the Best of Festival. WebTech class advisors are Mrs. Linda Fidler and Ms. Bonnie Furnanz. Congratulations to this outstanding group of talented and dedicated students!

Click here for a list of web sites and their creators.

Exposé: Holiday Celebrities Tell All!
What if Santa refused to deliver presents, the Easter Bunny stopped giving out candy, and the Tooth Fairy paid no more nightly monetary visits to toothless children? Feeling unappreciated, holiday celebrities recently went on strike in “Exposé: Holiday Celebrities Tell All!” performed by the Middle School’s first quarter drama class.

In this play, the Thanksgiving Turkey, played by Bryan Moros, joins an Overeater’s Anonymous group to lose weight and become less of a target for hungry holiday shoppers. In a heavy Irish brocade, Preston Mallard, the St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun, dispels myths about his magical abilities, confessing he actually works at “Meatball on a Stick” at the local mall. The American Bald Eagle resents being called “bald”, and two lesser known holiday celebrities, the Bad Poet and the Stupid Questioner, bring groans to the audience with their truly awful “talents.”

If you missed this entertaining farce, be sure to attend our next production, “CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators” which will be performed at 10:15 a.m. on December 7th in the Middle School gym!

Buddy Ball
On Friday, October 28th, Coach Sonny Lady and thirty-three SCPS Middle School students rushed to the Paulson Softball Complex after school to participate in Buddy Ball Softball. Buddy Ball is a program to provide athletic opportunities to physically handicapped and special needs children.

The event was organized by Coach Lady’s wife, Cindy Lady, Advanced Pediatric Physical Therapist at Memorial Health University Medical Center's Pediatric Rehabilitation Department. While many parks and recreation departments in communities around Georgia provide opportunities for special needs children, neither Savannah or Chatham County do. To help fill that gap, Memorial's Pediatric Rehabilitation Department is trying to provide a series of events and possibly even develop a league.

Buddy Ball started with the special needs children taking turns hitting the ball off a tee. Our SCPS students took turns being the partner, or "buddy", for each special needs child. The "buddy" helped push the child’s wheelchair around the bases or escorted the child around the bases. The SCPS and special needs kids teamed up against the coach, parents, and therapists for a wonderfully enjoyable game.

Everyone should take great pride in the way our Middle School students represented themselves and SCPS at the Buddy Ball event. The interaction between the special needs children and our SCPS students was beneficial for both. The children, their parents, and the physical therapists from Memorial's Pediatric Rehab Department were amazed at the turnout and the kindness, enthusiasm, and effort exhibited by our SCPS Middle School students. Watch for future opportunities to participate in Buddy Ball events!
 

Derrick '97 and Amanda Futrell

Meredith Nesbitt Atwood '98 graduated in May 2005 from University of Georgia School of Law and was recently admitted to the Georgia Bar. She has associated with the law firm of Kopecky & Roberts in Washington, Georgia, where her practice areas include civil and criminal litigation and real estate. She lives in Washington with her husband, Dr. James Atwood III, an analytical chemist at the University of Georgia.

Katie Luedtke Paxton '98 lives in Apex, North Carolina with her husband Jason.

Jamie Turner Curry '99 lives in Savannah on Whitmarsh Island with her husband Sean and children Sarah Morgan and Hunter Blake, and works as a Registered Nurse at Memorial Health University.

Rebecca Wesley '01 graduated in May from Mercer University with a double major in Marketing and Spanish. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Business.
 

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