Join the Gala Team The next meeting of the Community Gala Committee will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the Playroom. All volunteers are  welcome and encouraged to attend. New this year are  "Community Huddles" (a version of the former class baskets) as a schoolwide endeavor.  There will be collection boxes for the Lower, Middle and Upper schools. The collection boxes will be outside Baiba Vasys’s office for Lower School, Tracy Steven's office for Middle School and Dorothy Tillger's office for Upper School. Please see the flyer in the left column for more details.

Baldwin’s New Family Groups Baldwin’s community has 40 new “families” this year. The families consist of students, faculty and staff from all divisions who get together periodically throughout the year simply to have fun. They met for the first time in October and are looking forward to their next full family gathering on Dec. 11. Most of the students were also able to connect after the Thanksgiving Assembly when the “big sisters” delivered homemade cards to their “little sisters” in the Lower School.

Appreciating Our Traditions A Message form Lower School Director Baiba Vasys As you know, due to the power outage last Tuesday we held our Thanksgiving Assembly on Monday, Dec. 1. One of the highlights of the afternoon was watching Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten perform their songs. A Baldwin tradition invites seniors who have been here since Kindergarten to join the little girls in singing "A Group of Fat Turkeys are We!"  These seniors are known as the Thirteen Year Club. The Fourteen Year Club joined Pre-Kindergarten in singing, "I Don’t Want to Be a Turkey" on Thanksgiving Day.  At the conclusion of the assembly, our Baldwin family groups convened briefly so that the Middle and Upper School girls could give their Lower School  “sisters” hand-made cards.  It was a precious moment to see the looks on our little girls’ faces! We truly do have so much to be thankful for.

Winter Dance planned for Dec. 12 Each year the senior class hosts the Winter Dance. The entire Upper School is invited to this popular dance. It will be held this year on Friday, Dec. 12 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the Main Hall of the Residence. For important information on the dance, please click on the Winter Dance download in the left column of this newsletter.

Book drive benefits city school Please donate gently used or new books to the library of Cornerstone Christian Academy in Philadelphia, a Kindergarten through 8th grade private school. This book drive will be held during Baldwin's Book Fair, Dec. 7 to 12. Donation boxes will be in Lower School, Middle School and Children's Book World.

College financial aid workshop is tonight Parents are invited to attend a college financial aid workshop on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the Haverford School in the Ball Auditorium, Wilson Hall at 7:30 p.m.  This workshop, sponsored by our consortium (Agnes Irwin, Baldwin, Friends' Central, Haverford and Shipley), will be conducted by George Walter, long-time dean of enrollment management at Villanova University. The program is designed especially for parents of juniors and seniors, but any Upper School parent might find the information useful in looking ahead.

Citrus sale benefits musicians The Music Department is selling small and large boxes of Hamlin and Naval Oranges and Ruby Red Grapefruit from Texas, now through Dec. 5. All proceeds will be used for the Music Department’s Performance Tour to the British Isles in March 2010.

Fall Musical Notes The Upper School Chorus and Orchestra Concert will be held Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room. This will be an evening of beautiful choral music and orchestral sounds for all seasons. All are welcome to attend. Click "Read More" for more events.

After School Enrichment Program offers fun activities for Lower and Middle Schoolers Winter programs begin in January Registration deadline is Dec. 4 Photography, science, jewelry making, working with clay - these are a few of the fun activities your daughter will have an opportunity to enjoy when she signs up for Baldwin's After School Enrichment Program that begins in January. Baldwin is excited to offer a variety of classes and activities in its After School Enrichment Program during the winter trimester. To learn more about these many opportunities please click on “Read More” and the download in the left column of this newsletter.

Special events planned for Book Fair Now is the time to “Bear-E Yourself in a Book” at the Baldwin School Book Fair, Sunday, Dec. 7 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and Dec. 8 to 12 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Children’s Book World, 17 Haverford Station Road. Special events include:

Our Emergency Contact System A Message from Head of School Sally Powell On Tuesday, Nov. 25, we were forced to close school because of a power failure on campus. We used our emergency phone system, AlertNow, to inform the Baldwin community of the school’s closing. The telephone numbers used for this system are pulled from your profiles on the Baldwin website. It is very important that your profile information on the website is up to date. Each individual may have two numbers that can be used for the system. If you are unsure how to update your profile, you also may email your contact changes to Technology@baldwinschool.org.  Also, please make sure that the telephone numbers you provide have a voice mailbox or answering machine tied to them; this is very important in case you miss the call. If you did not get the emergency message on Nov. 25, or if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email the technology team at the previously mentioned email address. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience last week’s closure might have caused, and I appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter.